Starcrossed
by shademaster24601
Summary: Love is a fickle thing. No matter what you might look like, where you come from, or who you were meant to be. Love will always find you and you'll be happy that it did.
1. intro

Starcrossed

By Shademaster24601

* * *

Introduction:

Love, a fickle thing. For some it'strying to find the right words, others think it's something aquired by ones choice of actions, some think it's a lost cause, some think it's just a cheap thrill on a saturday night, but for a lucky few it means finding the one true person that helps you find that inner warmth, a state of happiness, one you inspire in them as well and for some lucky few, it's as simple as looking into eachothers eyes.

Love,simple it might seem, but truly a force nature, stronger than any hurricane, earthquake, or fire. It has it's obstacles, as many things often do. Like the famed Romeo and Juliet, seperatted by their feuding families, but bonded by their undying passion which kept with them to their end. Katherine and Pertruchio, both with rather outlandish behaviors, but found that as wiley as they both were saw an inner light in eachother that no one else saw.

This is of similar quality, of powerful passion, seperation of class, judgement by friends, but of true love none the less. We tell you the tale of a great warrior, and a devilishly wild temptress. The relationship of these two is an odd one, but strong, one that is hard to describe. Not completely hateful, not entirely loving, not extremely close, not exactly distant. The only word that comes to describe this story is simply what was implied. Starcrossed.

As I regale you this epic of the heart, I remind you to please keep in mind that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. No matter what differences there may be between two who are in love, it is simply that, love. Let this story entertain you, let fill your soul. And don't forget as your reading, that one day you too, will find that one special person who you are sure you want to spend the rest of your life with, and will feel the same about you.

* * *

And let it begin.


	2. Chapter 1: The Hero

Starcrossed.

Chapter 1: The Hero.

* * *

We open this tale on the beautiful northern oceans. The air is thick with fog, hardly a thing in sight except the still, gray, waters. Suddenly the water begins to tousle about, then an enormous ship rips through it, cutting the fog like paper. She's a massive ship, carved with fearsome markings and stained black with charcoal. Decorating the bow is the skull of a massive Timberjack. The sails are spread wide, catching the wind, on them the mark of her captain's clan. (Two sinister serpents intertwining around a dragon fang.) Her name is Storm-bringer and she is quite possibly the most feared ship in the sea.

One man commands this vessel. That man alone drives her through her coarse, for no man alive would dare travel with such a beastly warrior. He stands firm at the helm. He wears a fearsome silver armor, Gothic in design, spikes decorating elbow, shoulder, and knee pads. It was forged with the finest metals, and fortified with Groncle scales. He wears a cape made of black-bear fur, which flutters in the wind as he sails. In front of him, secured on a wooden pike, his helmet. Crafted in the form of a dragon head, two horns curved back and up.

He is an attractive man, uncommon among his family, except the women of his mother's side. Face with looks like unto the trickster Loki. A muscular build to rival Thor's. Strange of his appearance is his hair, gray since birth, reaching down to his shoulders. Another odd feature is his eyes, miss-matched in color, blue left and red right. His name is Dragonbane.

His village fears and reviles him as an outcast. Likely due to his brutish attitude and greed. He was the greatest dragon slayer his village ever knew, so he decided to start charging for his assistance. Some thought it was ridiculous, but when it came down to it, he got the job done more effectively than any other. One would wonder if Dragonbane was evil, quite the opposite. Just like the miserly Scrooge, or the monster created by Henry Frankenstein, he was simply lonely, not a friend to speak of. Aside from the dark outlook and the lust for gold, he was a good man and never known to turn his back on those in need, and always ready to protect those around him.

Behind every great hero, there is an amazing legend. Now the story you were told of in the introduction is part of his legend,but we will take a short delay to tell you how it all began. It's a tragic tale of love, loss, despair and revenge. Granted in the rest of the story things will be brighter, but before the sun can rise, darkness must fall. Dragonbane's story began 21-years ago on the Island of Dusk, sister island to Birk. Unlike it's prosperous neighbor, Dusk to this day is still at war with the dragons, but the fighting was never as fierce as that night.

* * *

It was a dark night, stars blocked out with smoke and flame. The massive barrier of steel and wood that surround the village was toppling over, segments blown away or set ablaze. Dragons of all shapes and sizes were invading. Monstrous Nightmares, Deadly Nadders, Groncles, Hideous Zipplebacks, Grapple Grounders, even a Nightfury or two. Thumb through the dragon manual, and guaranteed, you could see every breed of dragon pass by as fast as you were turning the pages.

The people of Dusk fought bravely, every warrior held their ground. One of the two greatest warriors, Ilsa, was busy with another rather important matter, along with several of the local house wives. The second of the two, Firetop, led the defense of the livestock, which had been moved to a vacant house at the edge of the village. He battled the beasts bravely, putting down one after another. His mighty blade, The Render, held firmly in hand, reflected the deep glow of the blaze around it. It's deadly,sharp blade, curved into a terrible hook near the top, dripped red with dragon blood. Firetop had just pierced the heart of a Nadder when his fellow guards called to him.

"Firetop!" One shouted. "They're coming in to fast! We can't take much more of this!"

Firetop pulled his blade from the beast. "Maybe you can't," He said in an almost teasing tone. "But I've just started." As he finished he gave The Render a toss into the air with a strong flick of the wrist. The blade made a harmonic sound as it sailed through the air. Firetop watched it's path as it turned invisible in the smoke. He was pleased with the brief sounds of steel cutting flesh. As he reached his hand to catch the hilt of his weapon as it returned, two Nightmares and a Nadder came falling from the air with deep gashes in their throats.

Firetop laughed. "Hahahaha! I love this job! That's why I'm the chief!"

Another guard behind him had just bashed a groncle in the nose with a mace, making it fly away in defeat, then he responded to Firetop's boasting. "Aye, will you stop bragging about it! Besides, shouldn't you be with Ilsa right now? This is a rather big moment for you two."

Firetop shrugged. "I would if I could, but as you can see things are a bit out of control right now, with the massive dragon invasion and everything." He said with casual sarcasm. "Besides, this is way less dangerous than being with her at the moment. Uh-oh! Heads up!" He made a move and pushed the guard out of the way. Just as a Monstrous Nightmare came crashing down in a full blaze, biting at the soldiers and slamming it's burning head into a few.

* * *

Ilsa, who would have much preferred to be outside bashing in dragon skulls with her shield, Pulverizer, was confined to bed. You see, just as the invasion began, she went into labor. Now she probably should have known something like this would happen, but she was bummed out about it just the same. She lay in her bed, going through the steps, in massive pain, with six or seven other women running back and forth getting things ready.

Gretta, who had been a dear friend to Ilsa, stayed at her side holding the poor woman's hand. She tried to keep Ilsa's mind on the task at hand, but one of Ilsa's fine qualities was her love of adventure.

Greta brushed some of the hair out of Ilsa's eyes, then spoke sweetly. "Now, everything is going to be just fine. Remember your breathing, and stay calm."

Ilsa rolled her eyes. "Oh come on Gretta. Can't I at least bag one Zippleback?" She asked, as if a child was asking to stay up past bed time.

Gretta shook her head. "No chance. Besides, you can't honestly say that you could fight in your condition."

Ilsa gave a sly smile. "Give me five minutes and I can show you different." She was then hit with another contraction. "Ungh!Ooooohhh! Who asked you?" She said glaring at her stomach.

On the right side of the room, one of the nurses was at the water pump. She was soaking a cloth to put on Ilsa's fore head. Right as she finished, the head of a Monstrous Nightmare burst through the wall. It snapped wildly and almost took her head, but at the last moment, there was a loud _*Shunk!* _and the beast hit the floor with a loud _thud! _Imbedded in the creature's eyes, piercing it's brain, was The Pulverizer.

Gretta gave a rather startled look to Ilsa, who looked rather satisfied. "Wow, you were right."

Ilsa smiled. "Yep," She glanced back at her stomach. "now I'm all yours kid."

* * *

Outside the conflict grew to immense heights. The dragons seemed to have gained the upper hand and were closing in on Firetop. The whole platoon that followed him was slaughtered, leaving him to fend off the dragons. He fought heroically, but he was taking damage as fast as he was dishing it out. He recieved several slashes from the claws of the beasts, but The Render took many dragon lives in the process.

Firetop shouted at the top of his lungs. "Never in my life, will I ever let a dragon prevail over me!"

He charged in with berserker rage. He cut the dragons down one by one, in a battle that lasted for hours. Just as Firetop exhausted his strength, when the horrid reptiles drew in for the final blow, something incredible happened. It was something no one could ever explain, not in a hundred years. An infants cry, loud and un-resistible. It echoed through the entire village, prominent in everyone's ears. Firetop smiled and shed a small tear. That was his child, his own little miracle. He then turned to see another unbelievable sight. The dragons, all of them, went into some sort of frenzy. They shook erratically, bashing their heads against ground,walls, and stone. The crying was driving them mad, causing them immense pain. They all took off in different directions, trying to flee the village. Some got away, others found it difficult to fly, and some plummeted right into the ocean.

At last the fighting was over. Dusk had won it's victory. Villagers cheered, embraced their loved ones, and Chanted their chiefs name. Firetop however didn't bother to listen, he just ran straight home.

* * *

Ilsa lay in bed, cradling her newborn son in her arms. His crying was calmed, a smile upon his small face. She gently caressed his cheek with her finger, which made the newborn giggle. Ilsa had always wondered what this moment would be like. Now she knew, it was pure heaven. The child slowly opened his little eyes for the first time, and gazed upon his mothers sweet face, smiling back at him.

Ilsa spoke to him with soft affection. "Hey there, welcome to the world. I'm your mommy." He yawned a little and then looked at the dead Nightmare on the other side of the room. Ilsa followed the path of his sweet little gaze and laughed a bit."Hmhmhm. Yeah, things get crazy like that around here, but trust me, your gonna love it."

They both flinched slightly as they heard some sort of brushing noise. They looked to see that the nightmare was being pulled out through the hole it made. Soon the sound of something being removed from something fleshy was heard and as if on signal, Firetop emerged through the hole with The Pulverizer in his hand. He brushed off some of the blood and brain from it as he made his way, smiling, toward his wife and son.

Ilsa gave one of her sly, signature smiles. "And where have you been?" She asked in a sweet accusing manner.

Firetop smiled warmly back at her and rested his wife's shield against the wall. "Out on business, but I see you kept yourself busy."

Ilsa laughed. "Hehehahaha, I suppose you could say that." She looked to her son, who was now wrapped in curiosity over the new person in the room. She then looked back at Firetop. "Come here and meet your son."

Firetop knelled by the side of the bed to get a good look. "Well how do you like that." His eyes were perfectly aligned with his son's, who looked rather happy to see him. "Hi, I'm your dad and I think you just saved everyone's lives."

Ilsa smiled again before giving her husband a playful punch in the arm. "Come on, I know this is big, but you might be exagerating a little."

Firetop's eyes showed the purest truth. "I'm not joking, you should have seen it out there! We were toast, but this little gift of the gods drove out all the dragons with that yelling of his."

Ilsa's eyes widened. "Incredible," She looked back at her still smiling son. "guess you're gonna fit right in."

Firetop smiled, looking at his son, who he was sure was destined for greatness. He reached over and tickled the newborn's chin. "He sure is. I think I might have a name for him."

Ilsa smiled at her husband. "Well, you've never had a bad idea before. Let's hear it."

Her husband looked proudly at their son. "Dragonbane, for he will be the one to make the reptiles run in fear. Who knows, one day the beasts might tell story's of him to frighten their children to sleep."

Ilsa smiled, gave Firetop a kiss on the cheek, and turned her gaze back to her son. "I love it and I love him and I love you. This is quite possibly the best day of my life."

Firetop raised an eyebrow. "What about the day we met?"

She replied slyly. "Doesn't even compare to this."

The two shared a kiss and spent the rest of the night with their son.

* * *

Dragonbane's life was the best any child of his land could ask for. His parents stood by him throughout his life. They trained him to be as great a warior as they were, and it looked like that work was paying off. Dragonbane had incredible strength, especially for one so young. He could crush an iron helmet in his hands with ease. Firetop and Ilsa weren't surprized, after all he was their kid.

On his seventh birthday his parents took him down to Gretta's workshop. You see, aside from being a kind hearted nurse-maid, she wasalso the finest black-smith Dusk had ever known. In fact it was her who crafted The Render and The Pulverizer. Today she had put the finishing touches on something very special.

Gretta heard a rhythmic knocking at the door. When she opened it a huge smile spread across her face. "Well, look who it is."

Firetop, Ilsa, and young Dragonbane stood at the door smiling back. "Hey Gretta." Ilsa greeted.

Dragonbane was happy to see her. "Auntie Gretta!" He ran to her and gave her a big hug.

Gretta laughed. "Hahahaha, oh it's so good to see you lad." She set him down and took a good look at him. "By Thor almighty, your getting tall! Shame you still haven't gotten any color up north." She ruffled his silver hair while finishing.

Firetop pressed for business. He was just as excited as his son. "Well, we said our hellos. Now, I do believe that you mentioned some sort of surprise for my boy."

Dragonbane's eyes widened with excitement. "A surprise? For me?"

Gretta smiled warmly. "Of coarse a surprise for you silly. After all, Who would auntie Gretta be if she didn't spoil you on your big day?"

Ilsa gave one of her sly little grins. "A cold hearted sea-hag." She said sarcastically

Gretta gave her *dear* friend a little glare. "Ha-ha, it is to laugh." She got exited now. "Come on, let me show you!"

She lead them to a case with a sheet covering it. Gretta stood next to it with a prideful smile. then gave a little speech.

"Before I show you," She said with a mischievous smile. "Dragonbane, can you tell me what makes your folks such great slayers?"

The boy pondered this for a moment. " Is it their strength, speed, cunning, and love of the adventure?"

Ilsa and Firetop laughed."Hmhmhm, He seems to have hit the nail on the head with that one."Ilsa said with a grin.

Gretta rolled her eyes. "If I may, it's all in the weaponry. Where would Firetop be with out his trusty Render? Or Ilsa without her mighty Pulverizer? I'll tell you where, in a Nightmare's gut! Fortunately that will not occur, for They have the best weapons in existence. Both hand crafted by me." She said with a smile. "That is why, for this special occasion. You their son will receive the newest and greatest thing to ever be forged."

With one big pull, Gretta removed the sheet. It reveiled a suit of armor, which glistened in the sunlight.

"Wow" Daragonbane said with wide-eyed intrigue. "That's for me?"

Gretta gave him a big hug. "You bet, I put together the best of my skills to make the best gift for my favorite nephew."

Firetop looked a bit puzzled. "Uh...Gretta, isn't it a bit big?" He was right, the armor did look more suited for him, rather than a six-year-old.

Gretta rolled her eyes. "He'll grow into it. Until then, I'll keep it in perfect condition so it's ready for his right of passage."

Ilsa was impressed. "Gretta, this is incredible. You've never done something this big before. It all looks like one big piece.

Gretta smiled with pride. "Yes, it has to be for full effectiveness. Padded on the inside for comfort, completely insulated and fire proof. With this bad boy, Dragonbane could take a Nadder's fire breath like a gentle rain."

"Cool!" Exclaimed the fascinated young viking.

"Indeed." Said his aunt with a smile. "Now look at the spikes. These are added for perfect close combat opportunity,plus they look pretty awesome. The gauntlets are clawed at the finger tips, to really dig into the reptiles, heck you could probably hitch a ride if you got them in deep enough."

Firetop laughed. "Hehehehe!Come on Gret, riding dragons? That's a bit ridiculous, don't you think?"

Gretta gave a glare to the chief. "Wow, you certainly know how to dash dreams quite effectively. Bottom line, from the boots to the helm, this armor is indestructible. Nothing can pierce it. As long as it covers your entire body, there is nothing you won't live through."

Dragonbane was astonished. He gazed at the armor with pure awe. It was right then and there that he was sure. This is what he would be when he grew up.

* * *

We will return to our hero's past at a later date. Right now, he is clearing the fog and reaching his destination. You see, every year, he spends one week with his relatives on Birk. He caught glimpse of the island and let out a relaxed sigh. That brief moment of peace was cut short by a dignified screech. He heard it several times before, and would never forget it. This was the call of a Nightfury.

Dragonbane clenched The Render's handle, ready for a fight. Normally he would destroy the creature in hand to claw combat, but this was not just a Nightfury. He could see it circle his ship through the fog, along with a Groncle, a Monstrouse Nightmare, a Nadder, and A Zippleback. Five dragons, one of him, this was gonna be fun. He was about to put on his helmet, when he was surprised with a familiar voice.

"Hello!" It called.

Dragonbane recognized this voice. "Cousin Hiccup? Is that you?" he called back confused.

"Yep. It's good to see you again Bane." Replied Hiccup in an excited tone.

Dragonbane rolled his eyes. "You know cuz, I never really agreed to that nick-name." He shouted with a slightly peeved tone. "Just call me Dragonbane. By the way where are you?" He asked looking over the sides of Storm-bringer to see if his cousin was floating alongside in a one-man fishing boat.

"Uhh...I'm near by and I brought my friends with me." Hiccup called in a nervous voice.

Dragonbane was slightly shocked. "Rinky-dink Hiccup has friends now? Good on ya! You must have taken down a huge one of the scaly demons!"

Hiccup replied only half-truthfully. "Yeah I did...Um...we're gonna come into view now. Please try and stay calm, don't freak out or anything."

"Uh...okay, why would I freak out?"Dragonbane asked.

He watched as the dragons circling came toward the ship. The Groncle, the Nadder, the Nighmare, and the Zippleback landed either on the deck or perched on a side of the ship. Dragonbane would have took The Render and got swingy if he hadn't seen what he saw. On the backs of the dragons, with home-crafted saddles, were several of the kids from Birk. He then heard a kind of _thump _behind him. When he turned, Dragonbane was shocked to see a Nightfury creeping toward him like a cat. What he absolutely could not comprehend, was that Hicccup, his cousin, was ridding it like a horse.

Hiccup saw the astonished look on his older cousin's face. "Surprise." He sheepishly said.

* * *

**End of chapter 1. Our Hero is in and his connections made, but what lies in store for our dashing adventurer? Stay tuned to find out.**


	3. Chapter 2: Changes made

Starcrossed.

Chapter 2: changes made.

* * *

Dragonbane was at the least shocked by what had occurred. a short while ago he was sailing to visit his relatives with a smile on his face. Now he is walking uneasily up the dock, with a night fury keeping in step at a rather close distance. Dragonbane wasn't the only one with issues. The nightfury(A.K.A. Toothless.) along the every single dragon who caught sight of our armored avenger, got this nervous feeling about them. It was as if they could just smell the threat he presented. A groncle who saw him gave a snort of disapproval, but when Dragonbane suddenly turned his head to look at the beast in response, said groncle cringed and backed away in fear.

Hiccup could feel his cousins tension. and decided to try and lighten the mood. "So, cuz. How was the trip?"

Dragonbane answered, but kept his gaze on the many dragons around him. "Good...fair waters...fine fishing...the usual.

Hiccup rubbed the back of his head. "Heh, I guess you probably noticed some of the changes that we made on Birk."

Dragonbane looked at his cousin sternly. "Hard to miss, we spend our entire lives fighting these sky demons and you show up riding one like a show pony."

Toothless gave a soft disapproving growl. He didn't want to seem too aggressive. Hiccup had warned him before on how to act around the visiting cousin.

Dragonbane was quick to catch this growl and gave a rather sour response. "You'd best hold you tongue reptile, less I rip it out."

Toothless was offended and would have knocked this jerk to the ground, but was stopped by Hiccup scolding the both of them. "Hey, knock it off! I was hoping we could have a nice family get together without you two trying to kill each-other. Now cool it and be ni..woah!"

Hiccup fell flat on his face as they reached the top of the hill leading from the dock to the village square. Toothless went to help, but was beaten to the punch by Dragonbane.

"Hiccup are you okay?" Asked Dragonbane with concern.

Hiccup brushed himself off. "Yeah, I'll be fine. There's a gopher hole there and I keep getting caught every now and then."

Dragonbane was confused. "Keep getting caught? wha..." His question was answered when he glanced down. He couldn't believe he didn't notice it before. One of his cousin's feet was replace by a metal peg. "Hiccup! Your foot! What in the..." His shock turned to anger and his gaze turned to Toothless. "You did this. didn't you?"

You couldn't cut the tension if you swung an axe with all your might. The way Toothless and Dragonbane stared each other down was a frightful sight, almost everyone waited for blood-shed. Hiccup stood between them. "No!" He said sternly. "Toothless isn't responsible for what happened to my leg. Heck it could have been alot worse if it wasn't for him."

Dragonbane was puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Hiccup tried to explain. "There was a really big battle. I'll get into the details over dinner, but we had a really nasty fall, and Toothles took the blunt of it. He saved my life."

"Oh did he now." You could have sworn Dragonbane was gonna flip anyway. He walked right up to Toothless with a stern look on his face. Toothless was ready for a hard strike, but to his surprise, Dragonbane gently placed a hand on the reptile's head and gently scratched behind his ears. (If he had them. Did anyone ever get a good look?). This made Toothless purr like a house cat. With a cheerful laugh Dragonbane spoke to his new friend. "Hahahaha, you scaly lug you! I wish someone would have told me sooner. Saving my dear cousin, why that makes us kin you and me!" He pulled back his hand and extended it for a hand shake. Toothless watched this, stood up on his hind legs, gave one of his Toothless grins and reached a clawed hand to meet Dragonbane in the handshake.

The whole village cheered, happy to see Dragonbane's acceptance of the dragons in Birk.

* * *

The dining hall was packed that night. Full of happy villagers celebrating the return of a legend. Drinks were raised, cheers were shouted, and food was enjoyed by all. To the surprise of everyone, the dragons were welcome in the celebration. Everyone knew the story of Dragonbane and the many tales that are told of his exploits. They all assumed he would detest the reptiles, but they were glad to be proven wrong. Said legend even challenged Toothless to an arm wrestling match. Toothless was taught the rules by Hiccup and has never lost. (Dragon against human, what did you think would happen.) Dragonbane however, was the one who never quite fit the norm. It took him only a second and a half to beat our lovable Nightfury.

Stoic stood to propose a toast. "To my dear nephew, a legend among men. Strong of both muscle and mind, a rare combination among our people. To his bravery, his honesty, his kindness, his boldness. To the greatest dragon slayer the world's ever known!"

Everyone cheered. "Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!" The dragons, hesitant but not wanting to offend, gave a few calls of praise to join the crowd.

Dragonbane stood up in response. "Thank you uncle and thank you people of Birk. It warms the heart, that despite all that has transpired between man-kind and the dragons, we can still come together in peace." He raised a glass. "To the dragons! Never in my life will I ever know a more amazing race of rivals.

Everyone Cheered without essitation. Dragonbane's acceptance of the dragons was surprising, but very welcome.

* * *

After a few hours had passed things started to calm down. Dragonbane was regailing the young vikings and their dragons of one of his daring battles.

"So there I was cruising along the waters, returning from a trade run. It was calm, so still, like you could just tell something would go wrong. Out of nowhere something rammed the ship. Knocking me away from the helm. I checked over port, nothing. starboard, I caught a glimpse of what looked like a massive fin, just as it vanished into the depths. I leaned in to get a better look, when out shoots this massive set of jaws that nearly bit me in half!"

There were the ocasional "Woah" and Awesome" from the gang. Even Toothless went wide-eyed with excitement.

"The beast raised itself to full height." He continued. "A massive sea-serpent, with eyes that burned like wild fire, a deep blue hue in his scales and a set of teeth that looked like they could bite ten trees in half at once. It towered over Stormbringer and started coiling itself around her hull. I locked eyes with the beast and never diverted my gaze. It struck at me like a snake, trying to get a taste of warrior, I Dodged each strike by nearly an inch. The stench of rotting flesh coming off his breath was a fast tell that this wasn't it's first fight. On the third dodge I grabbed hold of the Pulverizer and gave it a good bash in the eye. Oh, it was mad as anything I've ever seen. Next thing you know I was blind sided by a swing from it's huge tail. It knocked me to the side, if it wasn't for my armor I would have broken a few bones. Then it wrapped it'stail around me and tossed me into the air. I had started my decent, when the monster caught me in its terrible jaws."

There were a few starteled gasps, then Tuffnut asked a stupid question. "Did you die?"

Dragon bane spun to face the young viking. "Yes!...but I lived. As the beast took a mighty gulp to suck me down into it's gullet, I dug into the fleshy wall of it's wind-pipe!" He said the last part showing off the claws on his gauntlets. "I held firm, then slowly, one hand after another, I clawed my way back up it's throat. Once I reached the mouth, I dug my boots into the gums, grabed the upper rim of teeth and lifted with all my might. Oh, it put up one heck of a fight, but he was no match for the great Dragonbane! I pried open those pearly whites and flip out it's mouth and on to it's head. It locked eyes with me, I poised my arms in the ready position and dug my metal talons right into his corneas! To this day, that old serpents skin still decorates my den. Curtains, door-mat, chairs, the works."

The young vikings cheered and clapped for the hero of the hour.

* * *

After all was said and done, Hiccup and Toothless walked with Dragonbane to his usual place in the watch-tower.

"So, you and that nightfury are pretty close, eh cousin?" Dragonbane asked with a raised eyebrow.

Hiccup smiled and turned placed a hand on his dragon's head. "you bet. I trust Toothless with my life and he does the same with me when he lets me take the reign."

Dragonbane shook his head. "Careful Hiccup. They may seem loyal enough, but their cunning and deviousness is un-matched."

Toothless gave a glare in response. Hiccup spoke up in defense. "Don't start that up again, I thought you two were cool with each-other."

Dragonbane focused on the path ahead as he spoke coldly. "Since he saved the life of one of the only family I have left, I trust him for now. He takes one step in the wrong direction, then I gut him like a trout."

Toothless eased off the glare, but that last part left a chill running down his spine. He knew Dragonbane would and could keep good on his word if it came to it.

As they walked they passed a large fenced off field where the sheep were stored. It was established to better protect the flock. Dragonbane stopped for a moment and looked at the field. He noticed about five sheep were running, not typical behavior at night. The way they ran also worried him.

"Hiccup," He said still watching the sheep. "How do the sheep normally react around the dragons?"

Hiccup was a bit confused. "Well, they're pretty much calm, unless they think they are in immediate danger. Why do you ask?"

Dragonbane's eyes went wide. "Some-thing's got them spooked." He made a mad dash for the field and took a mighty vault over the fence. There were a few grunts and some familiar growls as Hiccup and Toothless tried to see what was going on. As the action began to roll right at them, they both gasped in shock.


	4. Chapter 3: First impressions

Starcrossed.

Chapter 3: First impressions.

* * *

Hiccup was petrified. Only a few seconds ago he was discussing the trust issue with his cousin, then next thing you know Dragonbane's barreling in, fighting a massive dragon in a claw to claw brawl.

It was truly a spectacular scene, he was clinging on to the side of it's head and it was thrashing him about, swiping at him with it's claws. Dragonbane started to knee the beast repeatedly in the chest, but it simply grabbed his legs in one of it's huge clawed hands and yanked him loose, then with a whipping motion threw him, sending him crashing into a few crates of grain.

That was when Dragonbane first got a good look at his quarry. It was a nightfury. It was at least twice as big as Toothless, which would bring one to believe that he isn't yet matured. The eyes were interesting. Instead of green, they were an enchanting shade of blue. They shined in the darkness, like two circles of blue sky on black. In fact they seemed to catch Dragonbane's gaze too well. He became lost, hypnotized by them, perhaps this was how the creature caught most of it's prey. This moment of weakness was all the dragon needed. It took that one moment to charge at Dragonbane, roaring fiercely and showing it's teeth. It crashed into him and both of them crashed into the house the crates were against.

The family that lived there was of course mortified by the battle that interrupted dinner, but they had no control over it. Dragonbane and his opponent grappled for a bit. then Then he grabbed on to the dragon's tail and held on with all his might. Try as the beast might, it just couldn't shake him off.

Dragonbane couldn't help, but taunt his adversary. "Ya know, I can keep this up all day, but let me know if I'm being too rough on ya big guy."

Dragonbane then did a twisting motion, that swiped the dragon off it's feet and on to it's back. It swung it's tail high and Dragonbane took this opportunity to do a back-flip off the tail and in mid-air, shift into a body slam. He landed with his feet facing the dragon's head and vice-versa. At the moment of pulling himself up from the drop, he caught a glimpse in-between the dragon's legs.

He decided to correct himself. "Oh, I'm sorry. Let me re-phrase. Let me know if I'm being too rough, little lady!"

The look on the dragon's blue-eyed face was that of both embarrassment and anger. She was not about to let this brute look at her business and get away with it. She gave Dragonbane a hard kick in the back, sending him flying out the hole they made coming in.

It was a brief tumble, but Dragonbane caught himself and shook his head. He smiled at his opponent, obviously showing off his un-damaged self. However without the helmet, he was left with a splitting headache. He got into a lot of fights, this was something epically out of the ordinary. One thing was certain, Dragonbane was not about to lose. He readied the pulverizer and charged at his opponent. He jumped and landed on her back. He then proceeded to pound on her head. She only took three hits before she rolled over and knocked him off. Then she thought it would be a good idea to cut her losses and take off. She raised her wings and with a big flap was in the air.

Dragonbane had just recovered from having that much reptilian bulk push him into the ground, when he saw his adversary make her escape. She made sure to fly over the flock and grab a sheep for later. Our ever determined hero was not about to let this one go. He ran after her at the great speed he was trained with. He kept his eyes lock on her at all times, even as she vanished against the night sky. She would have gotten away, if she hadn't looked back. When Dragonbane saw those blue eyes, he jumped and rebounded off a stack of crates, then a roof-top, then was heading right at her. When he reached the dragon he dug in his claws and held on with all his might.

She did a few rolls and a couple loops, but the warrior would not be moved. As she continued her flgiht with her un-welcome guest, she disapeared into the night.

* * *

Hiccup was none the less shocked. He knew his cousin well, but he never thought he'd ever get to see him in action and what happened...well...to him it was just, wow. Toothless was also dumb-struck. He hadn't seen another Nightfury on birk, much-less a female. Needless to say our young scaly friend was both terrified and turned on at the same time.

Astrid ran up to Hiccup after the dust cleared. "Are you alright?"

Hiccup nodded. "Yeah...oh man did you see that?"

She nodded back. "Yeah, man I knew Dragonbane was strong, but that was just you see the size of that thing?"

Hiccup looked worried. "I know and now he's alone with it, over a hundred feet in the air."

Toothless was concerned as well, but he couldn't tell who he was more worried about, Dragonbane or the fury.

* * *

Dragonbane was fighting his hardest. This Nightfury was strong, but so was he. He punched her several times, trying to bring her down, but to no avail. She tried to pull him off, but his grip was so strong that Dragonbane's claws dug in deeper as she pulled. This caused her to roar out in pain. Dragonbane started to laugh, then he got out of her grasp, pulled himself onto her back and with a mighty thrust, drove his claws into her back. Not only did she roar again, but they started to fall.

The rumble continued on the way down, both of them pounding eachother with all there strength. It brought them crashing down into the same closed off area that Hiccup and Toothless met in. They hit the cliff side with a mighty crash. They slid down, bringing large chunks of debris with them. When they hit bottom Dragonbane touched ground first. The Dragon stood on her hind legs and was about to lower the rest of the way, but before she could, Dragonbane charged shoulder first into her under-belly, repeatedly slamming her into the wall of the grotto.

She was starting to give in to the fatigue. Dragonbane noticed and took advantage. He let her get on all fours and before she could react he had her by the head. With every once of strength he had, he began to spin her in a hammer-throw. Around she went for several seconds.

Dragonbane wanted to add salt to that wound. "Around and around she goes, where she stops, who the hell cares!" At the end of that he released and sent her flying near the waters edge. She was shaken and in pain, but she was definitely not ready for Dragonbane to jump after her and come crashing down onto her chest. He started to punch her repeated ly in the face. When she was dazed enough, he reached for the render.

Dragonbane held it high over his head, ready to plunge it down into her heart. "Well, it's been fun, but I'm afraid the game as come to a close."

Then, the un-expected happened. The dragon spoke to him. "Ngh,fine! I suppose it's too much for a girl to grab a bite to eat on this island. _Sigh _Do what you will viking. I guess it would be too much for you to resist your nature. I just wish I could meet a guy who didn't want to kill me."

Dragonbane was shocked."You...you spoke."

She gave him a look. "No duh."

He was still trying to comprehend. "Impossible, a dragon should not be able to speak. Just a bunch of feral reptiles, mindless brutes, fiends birthed by Hel herself."

The dragon was getting a bit offended. 'First of all, hurtful. Secondly, my name is Narissa. If you're gonna insult me, then at least be kind enough to adress me properly."

Dragonbane was a bit confused as to why he was getting attitude when he had a blade ready to plunge into her heart."Wait...uh...Narissa. What exactly do you expect to happen here?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. Maybe you stab me, then skin me and use me for decorating, or you could have a heart and let the pretty little dragon go." She bnatted her big blue eyes for added effect.

Dragonbane thought for a moment, then it was clear to him what he had to do.


	5. Chapter 4: And away we go

Starcrossed.

Chapter 4: And away we go.

* * *

Dragonbane was perplexed. A dragon speaking, this was something he really wasn't ready for. The birk situation was enough, this was just ridiculous. Narissa was a bit on edge,then again wouldn't anyone be in her position? She kept her eyes locked with his, hoping to take him off guard again, but to no use.

She thought it best to try and talk her way out of it. "So...you got a name tough guy?"

Dragonbane snapped out of his train of thought. "Huh...wh-what?"

Narissa rolled her eyes. "Name genius, you know, that thing your mama gave ya on your first day?"

He seemed a bit offended. "My name is Dragonbane, demon! And don't you dare speak of my mother, or..."

She interrupted. "Or what? You already got me in your sights. I don't see how things could be much worse."Dragonbane readied his blade. "Okay, I do! Look, can't we just talk about this? I'm sure you're a nice guy deep down under all that brute strength and ferocity. C'mon big boy, let the pretty little dragon go, please?" Narissa then gave this big adorable smile, accompanied by big pair of sad blue eyes.

Dragonbane was a bit affected by the gaze, but still kept his blade ready. Narissa closed her eyes and feared the worst, but then was surprised by the sound of a sword being sheathed. She opened one and saw Dragonbane, tucking the Render away in it's holster. He then let out a heavy sigh and jumped off her, careful not to step on her wing.

As he started to walk away, she calld after him. "What, that's it? No stabing, or gutting, or slicing?"

Dragonbane kept walking. "No. We're done here."

Narissa was grateful she got to live, but at the same time felt a bit insulted. "What, am I not good enough? You think I wouldn't make a nice chair, or a sofa?" She rubbed her under-belly. "You wanna feel this? Would probably make a nice curtain, maybe a bed-sheet."

Dragonbane wanted to laugh, but kept his serious air about him. "If your smart enough to speak, then your smart enough to stay away from obvious danger. If I see you in the village again, I will kill you."

Narissa rolled back on to her feet and stood up. Her wounds were bad, but she was a trooper. "Gee, thanks. I'll be sure to keep that in mind."

Dragonbane was just about to walk out of there, when all of a sudden Narissa let out a roar of pure agony. Now, he normally would have kept walking, but when he was walking away from a voice, let alone one of lady. He turned back. "What's wrong?"

Narissa was arched over in pain. "My...ah...my wing." Her left wing was fine, but the right was busted up pretty bad, bone sticking out, blood coming from the wound. "Probably from when **you** used my back to bust up that section of wall." She gave him a bit of a glare, then lurched back into her hurt.

Dragonbane was silent for a moment, but then spoke in a kind of regretful tone. "Sigh...come over to the water, we need keep the swelling down." He led her over to the waters edge.

Narissa was a bit peeved. "First you try to kill me, then you give me orders. Watch yourself buster, I can still take your head off if I wante..." She couldn't finish before he pushed her adrift on her back onto the mini-lake. She was impressed by his strength, considering her size, but wasn't about to show it. "Show off."

Dragonbane shook his head. "Look...jus-just stay there. I'll be back with some medical supplies in a bit." He looked around and saw the sheep Narissa carried off with her. It had fallen during the fall and broken it's little neck on impact. Dragonbane picked up the dead animal and tossed it to the injured reptile, who caught it in her front claws. "Just gnaw on that until I return."

He ran off. Narissa watched him go, then looked at the sheep. She smiled "The eyes get'em every time." She happily started tearing away at her prize.

* * *

Hiccup and the rest of the gang were trying to clean up the debris. Fishlegs was moving Dragonbane's things into the watch tower so he wouldn't have to worry about it when he returned. The boy was a fan like no other. Toothless was frustrated. Some hot shot dragon-slayer rolls into town and starts causing trouble with him, then Hiccup takes his side against his own dragon! Now he's stuck cleaning up after that jerk.

Speak of the devil, Dragonbane camestumbling down the hill side out of the woods. He seemed pretty frantic. Hiccup approached. "Hey cousin! Are you okay? That fight looked intense."

Dragonbane didn't seem to pay the question any mind."Huh?...Oh yeah yeah, was great, had plenty of fun. Hey listen I need medical supplies. Gauss, bracing, cotton, bandages, some herbs."

Hiccup was perplexed to say the least. "Sure...a few huts down you'll find the patch-up station. Why? Are you hurt? It didn't break the armor did it?"

Dragonbane seemed a bit cocky at that last part. 'Feh, she wishes."He mumbled as he made his way to the med-hut. Toothless walked up and sat next to Hiccup. He let out a dis-pleased snort. Hiccup was quick to talk some sense in. "Look, I know he can be kind of a brute at times and maybe he isn't himself at the moment, but once you get past it, he's a great guy. He's just been hurt a lot. Not physically, we don't think anything can do that. It's just...if you knew what he's been through, then you'd know why he always wears that armor."

Toothless felt bad after that. He shouldn't be so touchy. However at the word 'always' He raised an accusing gaze at his friend. Hiccup caught this and corrected himself. "He takes it off to bathe of coarse."

Dragonbane came back with the supplies he needed and went back toward the woods. He stopped however to call to Fishlegs. "Hey, pudgy blond kid! Could you toss me my helmet?"

Fishlegs paid no mind to the pudgy thing, he was just happy to help every young vikings hero. "Yes sir, Mr. Dragonbane sir!" He tossed the helmet.

Dragonbane caught it and tucked it under his arm. "Thanks!" He then ran back into the woods without any saying as to why.

* * *

Narissa, was by every sense of the word, bored. She had polished off that sheep an hour ago and she had just been adrift ever since. Just floating there watching the sky, which was starting to brighten, a sign that she had been up all night. The worst part was that she really needed to...let the river flow...if you catch our drift. Well, she wasn't about to let it go in her favorite fishing spot. She didn't want to taste that next time she flew down for lunch. Although with the wing.

Her train of thought was interrupted by a familiar voice. "Miss! Miss!'

She turned her head to the shore and there he was, Dragonbane with the supplies. Narissa moved her tail to propel her self toward the shore to meet him. She couldn't help but put on the charm. "Hail the conquering hero. So muscles-magoo, what did you bring for Rissy and her boo-boo?"

Dragonbane wasn't amused. "Keep up the talk and I'll knock out your teeth."

She rolled her eyes. "Charming," She turned herself over and got back on land, shaking dry and getting Dragnbane wet in the process.

He wasn't shy about showing his dislike of it. "Watch it! I cleared out most of what they had for you so don't ruin any of it."

Narissa gave a smile. "Awww, I'm so glad you care."

Dragonbane rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Just show me the wing."

She did as instructed. Although she was a bit un-easy. "How do I know you're not just gonna rip it off for a trophy?"

He shook his head. "If I wanted you dead, then I would have done it already. Just hold still."

Dragonbane applied some medicinal herbs to the wound to keep it from getting infected. It stung a little, but Narissa wasn't about to show weakness. She figured while he got to work on the bandages, she might as well keep up the conversation. "So, what gives?"

Dragonbane kept to work, but answered. "Beg pardon?"

She gave him a look. "You know, all this." She motioned to his working. "It's one thing to spare me, but why take the time to fix me up?"

He was silent for a moment. "Well...consider it part of my mercy. I'm not gonna let you suffer after I spare your life, then there would be no point to it."

Narissa thought he was holding back, but it did make sense. "I guess you're just a regular old softy." She felt him squeeze the bad wing. "Owowow...Okay I give! You tough."

He smiled as he released. "Thank you." He finished applyng the bandages. "Well your all set up. You won't be flying for a while, but you should be fine."

She examined said wing, bandaged up and folded neatly against her side. "Hmmm, nice. By the by, where did you learn to treat a dragon's injury?"

Dragonbane smiled. "Hehehe, I suppose I'm so good at causing them that I can repair them just as well."

Narissa rolled her eyes at him. "You are a wild one aren't you?"

He rubbed the back of his head. "I do have a bit of a mean streak. Hey as long as we're playing twenty questions, what were you doing in the village?"

She gave him a bit of a weird look. "Getting dinner, I thought that would be obvious, or are just not the brightest torch in the cave?"

Dragonbane wanted to punch her so bad. "Hey! I happen to be one of the most intelligent vikings in the world. Back to the topic at hand, couldn't you have just gone after some wild boar in the forest, or go for fish in the river?"

Narissa gave a rather displeased grunt. "Feh! And spend the day warding off a bunch of horny males, who were after one of the few females we have on this island?"

Dragonbane nodded. "Ah, that time of year is it?"She took the liberty of smacking him upside the head with her tail. "Ouch! What was that for?"

She glared at him. "For being a pushy jerk."

0He put on his helmet just in case. "What's the big deal? Is it so terrible that you find a nice male Nightfury to settle down with, maybe have a few hatch-lings?"

Narissa seemed kind of depressed by that. "I wish it were other furies, but in case you hadn't noticed, I'm a bit bigger than most of my species."

He rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, my cousin is...acquainted with a nightfury. I just assumed that meant he wasn't full-grown."

She smiled a bit. "Nah, he's of proper age, pretty cute too, but it wouldn't matter. I try to get sweet with one of own kind and he gets all nervous and takes off, like he's afraid I'm gonna eat him or something. So then I'm stuck with the next size up, Those ugly chumps like the Nadders and the nightmares and I've even had a zippleback get into a fight with himself over me."

Dragonbane couldn't help, but laugh. "Hahaha, well I guess you're quite the head turner. So that's why you came to the village?"

She nodded. "Yep, All the dragons there are civilized enough not to bother a lady when she doesn't want to be bothered. I had been swiping their sheep for weeks without notice, then you show up and everything goes nuts! You always have that effect or was this plain bad luck?"

He shrugged. "A little of both. So where've you been living?"

Narissa motioned her head to the east. "I got a cave up on Mt. Grayden. Nice, quiet and no one bothers me."

Dragonbane's eyes widened. "Grayden? That's a three day hike from here."

She smiled. "Well, maybe for you land-locked bi-peds, but to a high flying acrobat like myself."He did one of those audible fake coughs to get er attention, then pointed out the broken wing. Narissa's expression drooped."Ooohhhh, this could be a problem."

Dragonbane nodded."Yep, again sorry I kind of, brutalized ya back there."

She waved it off like nothing. "Meh, it happens. Sorry about biting your leg at 500 feet in the air."

Neither one was sorry, but figured that they probably shouldn't make a scene. So they tried going their separate ways. However, there were complications. As Dragonbane left, he heard some rocks crumble behind him. He turned and saw Narissa trying to climb out of the grotto. Try as she might to get her grip, the rocks gave way and she landed on her back, which meant more pain, which meant she cried out in hurt again. "Dragonbane was gonna just walk away, but three steps later he just couldn't take the constant 'do-the-right-thing' burn at the back of his skull.

He approached Narissa, who was still lying on her back after the fall. She looked at him with those big blue eyes of hers."What?"

Dragonbane rubbed the back of his head." Well...I was thinking...maybe I could give you an escort."

She gave him this incredulous look. "And what makes you think I need you to look out for me?"

He pointed to her busted wing. "That could be a problem, first rule in the dragon-slaying buisness. A downed dragon is a dead dragon. You're gonna be really vulnerable out there if you can't fly away in a pinch."

The ever confident nightfury wasn't about to admit that. She just smiled, rolled onto her side to face him, then started to admire her claws. "Don't worry. I seriously doubt that I'm gonna have any trouble with a passing bear, or an idiot villager."

Dragonbane decided to let the villager thing go. "Well little miss confident...and I use the term 'little' very loosely." She glared, he continued. "Tell me, how would you do if a pack of Nadders in the 'mood' swooped down on you like crows on a corpse."

Her eyes widened. "Well, that is something to consider, but why do you even care, isn't your buisiness done with me?"

Dragonbane straightened his pose. "Hahaha, well my dear as of a few moments ago, you became the basic D.I.D."

Narissa looked confused."What in the world is a D.I.D.?"

He smiled as he took off the helmet."Damsel in distress."

She gave a rather un-amused snort."Well, okay. I suppose it couldn't hurt, but don't try anything funny. I hear too many stories about young women that go missing in the woods."

Dragonbane laughed. "Don't worry, I've got enough ghost stories going on about me as it is. Now grab on."

She was confused. "Peg pardon?"

He helped her back onto her feet. "Simple, grab onto my shoulders and I'll pull you up. These gauntlets tear into more than just scales."

Narissa was sceptical, mostly because she was four times his size, but what did she have to lose. "Okay. Up up and away criss-cross."

She grabbed on, he latched on to the wall, but before climbing he had to ask. "Criss-cross?"

She smiled. "Yeah, you know, because of the mis-matched eyes. I can't believe I didn't mention that before, you are just an odd-ball aren't you?"

Dragonbane let out a sigh and muttered under his breath. "Oh, by Odin, just strike me down now."

He started to climb. Slowly, but surely he was making it up the side of the grotto wall. He was sweating with the strain of Narissa's weight, but he pressed on. In about ten minuets they were up and over the wall.

Narissa was impressed."Well D.B. I gotta hand it to you. You really got me out of a jam."

Dragonbane was lying on the ground, arms out-stretched, and panting. "Yeah...no problem...say, do you mind...if we took a break...before continuing?"

She smiled at him. "Sure thing tough guy." She curled up under the shade of a near-by tree and let him rest.


	6. Chapter 5:Like oil and water

Starcrossed.

Chapter 5: Like oil and a lit match.

* * *

Narissa had fallen into a deep sleep. She was at peace, the sounds around her blocked. It was so peaceful that, unknown to her, she started to purr. This bliss was then interrupted.

"hey" came the faint, but clear voice of Dragonbane. Narissa twitched a bit, but did not wake.

"Hey, wake up." Louder now, but She just gave a defiant snort and continued in her slumber.

"I said wake up you lazy bag of scales!" Shouted Dragonbane, then he flicked her on the noze. His strength combined with the cold steel of his gauntlets made poor Narissa jump awake with a start.

The Nightfury, four times his size and now peeved, glared at Dragonbane. "Didn't your mother ever tell you to let sleeping dragons lie?"

He placed a finger to his helmet-hidden chin. "Hmmmm, now that you mention it. I do seem to recall something about slicing their throats if I ever got that close."

Narissa just rolled her big blue eyes. "Whatever you say, oh mighty one. So, how long were we out?"

Dragonbane crossed his arms. "I was out for two, you for four. You should consider yourself lucky that I let you sleep that long."

She raised up on her hind legs and did a courtsy. "Oh thank you, most gracious Dragonbane, mightiest warrior to ever live." Her words just oozed with sarcasm.

He rolled his eyes. "Just get moving, we got alot of ground to cover if we want to get this done quickly."

Narissa started to walk in the direction of with her nose in the air. "Fine by me. Three days is long enough to be in such close proximity of such a dangerous animal."

Dragonbanefollowed at her side. "You're calling me an animal? Ha! This coming from the one who raids villages for small mammals. And how in-decreet you were."

She took offense. "Oh, well excuse me for not being as light footed as everyone else. Can't help the way I was born smart-mouth."

He humored her. "Whatever you say three-tons-of-fun."

Narissa stopped, turned to him so they were face to face, then gave a low growl. "That's two and a half tons."

Dragonbane narrowed his eyes. "Well, you could have fooled me during the climb."

She was ready to smack him into a tree, but took a deep breath. "Let's...just...keep moving, okay?" She hated when people called her out on her weight. She couldn't help it if she was bigger than the other furies, she just was. She cooled down, however. As she turned to continue, she slapped him with the end of her tail.

The impact was strong enough to turn his helmet around 180 degrees. Dragonbane stopped to turn it back in the other direction. He wanted to turn her over for that, but kept his cool. This trip was going to be hard enough without constant fighting. They were silent for a while. They just walked, caught the scenery of the forest around them, pausing every so often for a 'rest stop'. As time passed though, things seemed to get boring.

Dragonbane, feeling uncomfortable as he was with a massive nightfury just inches to his left, decided to break the ice. "So, I'm not sure if it was just me, but it seemed like you were going a little easy on me during the fight."

Narissa gave him a confused look. "Beg pardon?"

He got to explaining. "Well, Narissa. If I recall correctly, you had plenty of opportunities to blow my head off with a blast of fire, being I didn't have my helmet at the time. My question is Why didn't you take the shot?"

She looked at the ground while she answered. "Well...it was too close proximity, a full blast like that could have blinded me for life. I happen to like my eyes Mr. Dragonbane."

Our hero didn't buy it. "I don't think your being truthful with me miss. Are you sure there wasn't another reason?"

Narissa was hesitant. "_Sigh _Okay, it was because you didn't use your sword. It didn't seem right to put myself at such an advantage. Speaking of which, why didn't you use your sword?"

Dragonbane rubbed the back of his head. "I guess I just enjoy the claw-to-claw combat. Makes it that much rewarding to just ripp right into the hide, to just tear out a bone for a trophy. Such a rush."

She got a little queasy. "Well, I think we'll be seeing that sheep again soon. Not exactly a stabalizing factor to know I'm making this little trip with a psychopath."

He just shook his head. "Don't confuse the thrill of the hunt with a mental instability. We vikings were forced into fighting dragons, doesn't mean we can't enjoy it."

Narissa gave him an accusing glare. "What forced you? From what I learned, the vikings were the ones who invaded **our** land. If you ask me, you had it coming."

Dragonbane glared. "Well I didn't ask you."

She kept her eyes on him. "Don't get snippy with me. You're just jealous cause you've been outsmarted by a dragon and you don't know what else to say." Being she wasn't looking, she wasn't ready to fall, face first, into a huge pit of mud.

Dragonbane crossed his arms. He laughed when he saw Narissa's tail and hind legs, which didn't go out of sight due to her size. "Ha! How bout look out. That enough of a comeback for ya bright eyes? Hahahaha!"

His laughter was cut short, when her tail wrapped around him and threw him into the mud too. He stood up in a start, the mud covering the front of his normally shiny armor. He looked over at Narissa, who had a big grin on her mud-covered face. He responded with a simple. "Oh it's on!" He tackled her and knocked her over on her side. She kicked him and he went sliding. The two had a bit of a rumble, however, both were holding back. Dragonbane because He didn't want to agitate her wing. Narissa because she didn't want to mess up her one chance of getting home without getting herself killed.

They wrestled for a while, but were interrupted by something out of the ordinary. They each felt something small and hard clonk them on the head, well Narissa felt it, dragonbane just heard the loud clang of something hard on metal. It was two angry squirrels, who were tired of the noise. They started chucking acorns at the two in the mud. Forty-five seconds of that and the little rats ran out of ammo. Narissa and Dragonbane looked at eachother. Both covered in mud and the acorns left a pattern. Narissa's face was now outlined like a cat and Dragonbane had, on his helmet, two X-eyes and a frown. The two looked for the longest time, then of all things, started laughing.

"You...Hahahaha!...you look ridiculous! Hahahaha!" Laughed Dragonbane.

Narissa's laugh could only be described as that of an angel. "L_look who's talking...Hehehaha!...Oh how the mighty have fallen."

He wiped some mud off. "Hehe!...oh man...ah, what were we doing. This trip isn't gonna do any good if we're miserable."

She gave a nod. "Agreed. We're mature, strong, individuals. We should be able to put this rival thing aside for a few days."

Dragonbane climbed out of the pit and helped her out. "Right. Look, I'm sorry for all that crap I said back there. I've been through some tough times and I think it might have messed me up."

Narissa gave an accusing look. "Might have?"

He just smiled. "I will push you back in."

She put up a hand in protest and grinned a sheepish grin. "No need, I'm just kidding. I'm sorry I kept pushing your buttons. I joke when I'm under stress."

Dragonbane just shrugged. "Ah, it's all water under the bridge. Speaking of water, I think we should wash off before the mud dries."

Narissa smiled and nodded. "Yeah, there's a spring just over that incline."

He bowed and motioned his hands in the right direction. "After you miss."

She bowed her head in return. "Why thank you, good sir."

And with that they were off.

* * *

After hours of hard work, the village was finally cleaned up after Dragonbane's little spat with his new friend. Toothless,Hiccup, and Astrid looked exhausted, but proud of their work. Just when all seemed calm...

"Hey guys!" Shouted Snotlout as he ran up from the docks.

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "What is it? Oh, he of impeccable timing."

Snotlout didn't have a nact for sarcasm. "I found this cool looking sea-weed washed up on the shore." He held up the plant, which was bright red in color.

Toothless was wide-eyed with curiosity. He examined the sea-weed and gave it a sniff. This caused him to start acting funny. He wheezed and wheezed, until finally ACHOO! The Nightfury let out a sneeze that sent a fire-ball right into a newly repaired hole in the side of the barn.

Everyone glared and Toothless just gave a simple look that just screamed. 'sorry.'


	7. Chapter 6: Look on the bright side

Starcrossed.

Chapter 6: Look on the bright side

* * *

Dragonbane and Narissa, in their new found acceptance of each other, continued their hike. The came across that spring Narissa was talking about. Small, peaceful, not a soul in Sight. Good thing too, the mud was starting to dry. Dragonbane took a running start and dived right in. The mud just seemed to glide right off his armor. He did a few laps, enjoyed the calm.

He was a bit perplexed by the fact that Narissa hadn't gotten in the water, she just kind of waited by the water's edge. Dragonbane made note of this. "Uh...Narissa, you may want to get in, your starting to look a bit crusty."

Narissa looked a bit sheepish. "Well...It's kind of awkward."

He swam back to the shore. "What do you mean?"

She looked over at her wing-cast. "I, don't want it getting wet. I already had a tough time keeping it clean during our rumble in the mud."

Dragonbane. "Okay, so what are you planning to do about the fact that you're covered in filth from head to tail?"

She twirled a claw around some grass. "Well, It's kind of awkward. I was kind of hoping...you know...maybe you could...well."

He stopped her when he figured out where this was going. "No, out of the question, chance in Helheim not found."

Narissa decided to get cute. "Oh, come on. I can't go in the water, or I'll ruin my cast. I had enough trouble keeping it clean in the mud fight."

Dragonbane still refused. "The answer is still no."

She kept pushing it. "Please, I'm desperate and I can't reach my back."

He just shook his head. "I will not lower my self t-to that levvvvv..." Narissa gave him a sad look with those big blue eyes and a little pout. "Oh, alright."

She smiled. "Thank you. First, take off the armor, we're friends, you don't have to be so defensive. Plus I'd rather not have cold steel against my scales."

He did as he was told. He even used the black bear-fur cape as a rag. He was gonna get rid of it anyway. He scrubbed around the busted wing and worked outward. However, with the combination of his reach and her size, it was getting hard to work.

Narissa decided to fix this problem. "You know, you don't have to try so hard. If you need to, don't be afraid to climb up."

Dragonbane gave her a glare. "I fear nothing." He climbed up and continued to scrub. He cleaned around the wings and started working his way up to the front. He was doing a pretty thorough job, so clean they shined in the sunlight.

When he reached the shoulders, he seemed to be surprised."Huh? You seem to have a lot of tension in the shoulders. Let me just work that out."

She seemed puzzled. "what are yoooooo...Oh my! That feels good. You sir, have magic hands."

Dragonbane smiled. "Well, I pick up a few things on my journeys." He finished the shoulders, then cleaned her front legs. He then gave her head a nice scrub-down and when he was done, her face was picture perfect, blue eyes and all. She gave a sly smile and narrowed her eyes. Before Dragonbane knew it, Narissa gave him a lick from cheek to fore-head. He stumbled back from the shock, then started brushing off the dragon-spit. "Ah! Gross! Uh, it's that sea-serpent all over again."

She giggled a bit. "Hmhmhmhmhm. Awwwww, don't be so grouchy. Just me being playful." She batted her eye-lids.

He just glared. "Yeah yeah, whatever." He went to get the other end and mumbled the whole time."Try to get fresh with me. Playful she says, oh I'll show you playful, right upside your head."

He worked from mid-back to tail. He get's the job done, even if he doesn't like it. He had some difficulty cleaning her tail, seeing as she wouldn't hold still.

Narissa turned to him, gave a bow, and took the cape. "Thank you so much you silver-haired wonder you. I'll finish up, I'm a little sensitive in the under-carriage."

Dragonbane shook his head. "If you say so, I'm gonna scout ahead. Catch up when your down."

She gave him a look. 'You'd leave a helpless little lady out in the woods alone?"

He slipped on his armor. "I'll keep in close distance, and I'll come right back if it takes too long." He put on the helmet. "I'm not gonna let anything bad happen."

As he jogged off into the distance, Narissa got to cleaning. As she did, she thought about Dragonbane. _"That guy is something else. He tries to end you one minute, then agrees to give you a sponge-bath the next. I don't know if he's bipolar, or just a ball of sweet coated in sour." _She un-furled her good wing and examined the work D.B. put into it. The way it shined in the light just made Her heart melt. "_Mmmmm, I've got to be sure to keep him around a little longer."_ The light reflecting off her wing shined right in her eye, making her stumble back. "Ow." She then fell on her back and her bad wing. "OW!"

She gave a little puppy-whine and dragged her tail back and forth. "Why me?"


	8. Chapter 7: The sound of music

Starcrossed.

Chapter 7: The sound of music.

* * *

Dragonbane needed some time alone. All that's been going on was just driving him mad. First the dragon speaks to him, then he's being all sympathetic about the dragon, then he's offering to help the dragon , then the dragon has the nerve to ask him to wash her. Why in the world did he agree to that? Maybe he was mad and just didn't realize it. All he could do was smile, because he was alone. No two and a half ton reptile following at his heel, no dazzling blue eyes to get lost in, and no soft sweet angelic voice to ease through his mind.

He stopped his train of thought."_What's happening to me? Why am I thinking about her like that?"_

He shook it off and kept on marching. He had just cleared a rather rocky hill, when his well tuned hearing picked up something. It was faint, but he could hear it. "...please I don't want any trouble, take my gold, take my hat, just please let me go..."

Dragonbane being ever-vigilant when it came to those in need. On the plus, where there were people to save, there was money to be made. He ran toward the call, jumping over rocks and logs along the way, leaping and rebounding off trees for the heck of it. He even started running on all fours just for fun. When he arrived at the scene, he stayed hidden to figure the situation.

Four burly marauders had some oddly dressed fool backed up against a tree at knife-point. The leader spoke to the strange man with venom in his voice. "Look you little pest, I know you're holding out on us!"

The man shivered in fear. He was about Dragonbane's height, brown hair, greenish eyes, skinny and pale as the day. "Please. The chest I gave you has all my money, all 300 pounds of gold diamonds and other precious metals. I have nothing else beside my lute."

Another marauder spoke up. "Liar! You kept your hand on your left pocket the entire time! What are you hiding?"

The odd man was petrified, the marauders were ready to rip him apart until they found what he was keeping from them. But before they could, a dark shadow fell over the group.

Dragonbane spoke out in a bold dark tone. "Let him go!" The marauders turned to see him in silhouette against the sunlight, on top of a hill side, looking down on them through the visor of his helmet.

The leader of the fiends did not see him through the light, none of them did. "And just who do you think you are stranger, telling us what to do?"

Dragonbane stepped into clarity. one of the goons gasped. "Gah! I-it's Dragonbane! Son of Firetop and Ilsa the Invincible!"

Another goon joined in the fear. "Who's mighty roar makes dragons run in fear!"

A third."Who is so strong, that it is said he can up-root trees with his bare hands!"

The leader did not flinch. "I've heard many things about you Dusk-dweller, but I do not believe in fairy-tales."

Dragonbane smiled behind his helmet. "Oh really? Then perhaps you will believe in cold, hard steel." He flashed his claws in this.

The leader pointed his dagger toward him. "Get him!" The entire pack of marauders charged at Dragonbane with blood-lust in their eyes. The armor alone would fetch each of them a large fortune. Who knows what the sword and shield would rake in. Two of the goons swung at him with their daggers and he dodged both blows. The third swung a huge flail and tried to crush our hero. Dragonbane was quick to escape being crushed. The leader came in swinging a single handed battle axe with great strength. Dragonbane saw this, but was just regaining his balance from the flail-dodge. It struck him in the rib-cage, but thanks to his un-breakable armor, he was safe, just winded. Once he was down, he saw the flail heading toward him. He out-stretched his arms and caught it.

The weight wasn't much, but the force of the blow embedded him in the ground. Dragonbane thought about the relevance of the situation. _"This isn't half as bad as Narissa crashing into me a 20 miles an hour, but man it's unpleasent!"_ He pushed the flail off with all his might. This made him fatigued, giving the marauders time to close in.

The leader couldn't help,but laugh. "Ahhahahaha! You see boys? Beneath all the armor, the sword, the shield, and the strength. He still just a man."

One of the goons added in. "Yeah, I can't believe I was afraid."

The big one with the flail joined. "Haha, so puny. It's a wonder how he stopped my strike."

The last goon finished. "I can only imagine what great beast could match him? Heheheh, probably a terrible terror!"

The band of fiends laughed like mad men at the thought of such a shrimpy lizard. They laughed at Dragonbane,who was stuck in the ground, feeling the sting of the ridicule. Then the men's laughter was cut by a mighty thud. The ground shook beneath them. They turned and there, towering over them, was Narissa. The four men started to shiver as the beast glared down at them with a glow in her blue eyes. Then she let out a mighty roar right in their faces. It was so strong, it actually created a breeze that blew their hair back. After the roar, they were stone-cold petrified.

Narissa saw that the marauders didn't seem to know what to do next. A sly smile spread across her face as she leaned in and whispered. "This the part where you run away." As was said, the men screamed like little girls, dropped their weapons and ran for their lives. She was proud of herself. Then she noticed Dragonbane just kind of lying their in the dirt. Narissa brought him to his feet. "So, I take it you had fun?"

Dragonbane shook off the fight. "I didn't need your help." He knew he was making stuff up. If she hadn't of shown up when she did, then again, if He never met her in the first place none of this would be going on.

Narissa looked a bit peeved. "You're welcome. Narcissistic little jerk."

Dragonbane walked over to the odd man who was mugged. The poor soul had passed out in all the excitement. Our kind and gentle hero, shook the man until he woke. When the odd fellow did, he was confused beyond belief. "What...w-where am I?"

Dragonbane was kind, even though he was miffed about being saved by one of the creatures he was sworn to destroy. "It's alright. You're safe now."

The man's face seemed to light up. "Oh thank you! Thank you so much! If there's anything I can do in return, just name it."

Our hero, noble as he was, couldn't resist his natural greed. "Well...hmhmhm, I do believe 300 pounds of treasure were mentioned earlier in your conversation with stinky-peat and the morons."

The odd fellow's face was a bit down, but still cheerful. "Oh, very well then. I suppose it's the least I can do."

Narissa added in. She had gone unnoticed by the man until now. "Do I get a cut of the loot? After all, I was the one who chased them away."

The man smiled warmly as he turned, eyes closed. "Of coarse my dear. I wouldn't dream of sending you off with out somethi..." He opened his eyes and was startled. Before him was a huge dragon, smile on her face, but still four times his size.

He gasped, fell to the ground, then zipped behind Dragonbane like a frightened squirel. "Ah! P-please, don't let it eat me!"

Dragonbane would have said something to reassure him, but then a slick little idea popped into his head. "Well...I suppose I could, but...my fee for such matters is pretty steep."

Narissa looked at Dragonbane incredulously. "I can't believe you." She turned her attention to the terrified man. "It's alright, I'm not gonna eat you. You have nothing to fear."

The man stepped up. Her voice was peaceful and soothing, which calmed his nerves. "My my...sorry for being so rude. I should be thanking you for your help. Both of you, help yourself to the chest, I've never counted the exact value of it's contents, but I'm sure it would never be enough to pay you back for your kindness."

Dragonbane slowly made his way to the chest. "Hmhmhm. Well, we can talk numbers later."

Before the greedy warrior could pickup the chest, Narissa caged it in the claws of her right hand. "Don't you dare." She picked up the chest and placed it before the odd man. "Here you go sweety, no charge."

The man was over joyed,but Dragonbane was bewildered. "What? No way! I've put up with enough in this little adventure. Now you're taking away the only bit of reward I could get my hands on?"

Narissa gave him a glare that answered his question. Dragonbane was silent. The man couldn't express his gratitude more. "Oh bless you two! Oh I'd hate to be a bother, but could you help me with one more small favor?"

Narissa answered. "We'd be happy to. What do you need?"

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black box. He opened it and inside was a beautiful diamond ring. "Today I was to be married to my darling Hilda, but those brutes scared off my horses when they attacked. I have to get my things and myself to a special meeting location just a mile or so in the direction of Mt. Greyden for the wedding at sundown."

She saw the over-turned carriage and it looked like it could still be pulled if it was propped up-right. "No problem, just hitch me up and We'll have you there right on time."

Dragonbane marched up to protest. "Hold on, I never agreed to this."

Narissa glared at him again. "It's the right thing to do. Besides it's on the way."

He felt a burn in the back of his head when 'the right thing to do' was brought up. "Fine."

The man was filled with joy. "Splendid! Oh, where are my manners? My name is Pip H. Fezziwig. Minstrel extraordinaire!"

Good thing his helmet was on, because Dragonbane went pale as a ghost when the term 'minstrel' came up. He gave a shuddering groan, much like Sideshow Bob's if you've heard of that guy, but that's in another category. Our depressed hero went over to the carriage and with one mighty lift, got it completely straightened out. They hooked Narissa to the harness and they were off in the right direction.

In a little while Dragonabne left Fezziwig to the reins, so he could have a private chat with even took off his helmet so they could see eye to eye. "Look, I don't think it's very appropriate of you to under-mind my authority. I'm risking my neck out here to get you home, so you could at least show a little respect."

Narissa was a bit peeved. "What the heck are you talking about? I give you plenty of respect."

He glared at her. "You made me clean the mud off of you with my good cape."

She got defensive. "You didn't have to. You could have said no."

He got mad. 'I did say no, but you wouldn't let it alone. Once again you gave me that sad little look of yours and made me bend to your will. I swear you wouldn't get anywhere without those big blue eyes of yours."

She got a sly little smile. "Well at least they're both the same color."

He growled. "Ooooohhhhh, you went there! Almost as annoying as a minstrel."

She was quick to throw back the comment. "Just cool it about that okay. At least he isn't singing."

Pip then interrupted. "Would anyone care for some traveling music?"

Dragonbane darted back to shot-gun to protest. "Pip, please I'm begging you."

Narissa couldn't help but tease. "Play it loud, play it proud!"

Pip smiled "Alright then."

* * *

Pip:Sing a song  
Yes, a travel song, when you gotta go somewhere  
Cause the fun is getting there,  
Yeah! Oh what the heck I must confess I love a road trip!  
Sing a song  
Let's hit the trail  
Forget the maps, forget the guides  
Before you know it you've made strides with me  
And I know all I need all along  
Is a path, and some pals, and a song  
So I'm singing and I'm palling with you  
(Spoken)  
See makes the time go by faster. Oh, see that cute little bunny?

Narissa spoke up. "Yeah he looks delicious." She licked her lips.

The bunny screamed and ran off quicker than lightning.

Dragonbane, with {Pip interjecting}  
Why me? Why me?  
{This is nice!}  
Tell me what was my crime  
{We are strolling}  
As chatty as a parrot, more annoying than a mime(he glares at Narissa, who's just smiling, eyes closed, nodding her head to the rythm.)  
{Hey look a cat who's wearing boots, that's crazy!}  
Why me? Why me?  
A simple answer would be fine  
Narissa:{Mmm this is good cardio.}  
Won't someone please send me a sign?  
Pip:{ Hey look a sign, you need a pal avenue straight ahead}  
What did I do to deserve this honestly?  
These pals of mine are asinine  
Why me?

[Pip]  
Ah man what could be better than this?  
[Dragonbane and {Narissa} singing at the same time]  
Why me? Why me? {Sing a Song, let's hit the road}  
A simple answer would be fine {It's the way to get around}  
Oh someone please send me a sign {Before you know it you've made ground with me}  
What did I do to deserve this honestly? {And I know all I need all along, is a path, and pal, and a song}  
This pal of mine is asinine {So I'm singing and I'm palling with you.}  
[Dragonbane]  
That'll do dragon, that'll do.

* * *

As Pip had mentioned, the time just flew by. They had made it to the arranged location at just the right time.

Fezziwig un-hitched Narissa. "Here we are and right on time. Sun-down, just as Hilda pictured it. Thank you my dear for all your help and might I add you have a simply angelic voice."

If her scales weren't black as night, then you would have seen her blush. "Awwww, thanks. It's just a little something I do in my spare time."

Pip also credited Dragonbane. "And you sir. You're might is rivaled only by your talent in song."

Our rather frazzled hero tried to be polite. "Well...thanks...Not exactly something I do spur of the moment."

smiled. "Well you do it well when you do. Plus you two work so well together."

Both the dragon and the viking were a bit confused. Narissa broke the silence. "Ummm, w-what do you mean?"

Pip clarified with a smile. "Oh, it's clear. I've seen the way you two look at each other. Hilda and I were just like that when we first started seeing eachother."

The two were startled now. Dragonbane was first to protest. " Woah! Woah woah woah woah woah. We are not..."

Narissa jumped in. "Yeah, It's not like that at all. We're just friends, heck we're not even friends, he's just paying me back for busting my wing."

Dragonbane continued. "I'm just walking her home is all."

Pip just smiled. "Ah, walking her home. That's how it always starts, then you can't get them off you're mind,then you start to find every little quirk just so adorable..." He was then hit in the chest, with his treasure chest.

Dragonbane brushed his hands together. "Quirk_ that _music man."

With that, they left Pip to attend his wedding. On Narissa's request they hid in the bushes and watched the ceremony. When it was done, they went to go set up camp in the night, thinking the same thing.

"_Was that weirdo right?"_

* * *

The song, "Travel Song" Was originally sung by: **Brian D'Arcy James** and **Daniel Breaker. **I give full credit to whoever wrote it. Please don't sue.


	9. Chapter 8: Campfire stories

Starcrossed.

Chapter 8: campfire stories

* * *

After their first and seemingly endless day. Dragonbane and Narissa had finaly settled down for the night. Dragonbane set up a campground in a nice little clearing hidden among some red-woods. It took some time Getting Narissa through the trees, but eventually they got her big self in. He collected some fire wood and she ignited the camp fire.

Narissa curled up nice and cozy near the fire. She was about to drift into another nice deep sleep, when she noticed Dragonbane pacing around as if guarding a perimeter. "What are you doing?" She asked sleepily.

He didn't turn to her, he just walked and answered. "What I said I would do. I'm going to make sure you get home safe. Can't take the risk of a twilight-ambush." There was a russling from the left. With one mighty leap combined with a kind of double-handed smash, Dragonbane cleared a massive red-wood in one blow. This revealed and gave a small heart-attack to a raccoon, who caused the noise. Dragonbane grabbedthe little rodent by the throat and pinned him to the fallen tree. "Who are you? Who sent you?" The poor little thing just started darting it's head around and chattered with fear.

Narissa rolled her eyes. "It's just a raccoon, oh fearless warrior. I doubt he's in hook up with any of the male dragons, who are probably asleep right now, like we showed be." She did one of those cute little cat-yawns.

Dragonbane shook off the rage and started to lighten his grip. "You're right. Run along little guy." The raccoon was over joyed.

Before Dragonbane could release the little fuzzy thing, Narissa spoke up. "Hang on, don't just let it go. Toss it here, I haven't eaten all day." Dragonbane looked at the raccoon, who was trying to give a forced smile through the terror. Our hero shrugged, then tossed the rodent to Narissa, who caught it in her jaws. She swallowed it whole, then stretched out on the ground with a satisfied smile. "Ah, the joys of a midnight snack."

It wasn't till now that our fine reptilian lady got a good look at our hero. "Hey, D.B. You don't look so good. When exactly was the last time you slept?"

He stopped pacing. "There was that 2-hour nap earlier."

She shook her head. "Two hours of sleep in?"

Dragonbane let out a sigh. "The...the last 72 hours."

Narissa jumped at the shock. "Wh-are you crazy? Don't answer that, but Dragonbane, that's not healthy."

He gave her an accusing gaze. "This coming from the one who just ate a probably disease ridden forest creature in one gulp?"

She glared. "Don't turn this around on me. I know you think you're invincible, but..."

Dragonbane stomped the ground. "I **am** invincible! Don't you ever question that."

Narissa rolled her eyes again. "Fine, but the point is, even you need your sleep."

He rubbed the back of his head. "I-I try, but it's hard getting through the full night. I...I get these nightmares that really shake me up. It's...not pretty."

The look in her eyes turned to that of concern. "What kind of nightmares?"

Dragonbane shook his head. "It's nothing j-just old memories. I don't talk about it...to **anyone**.

She put a bit of softness in her voice to calm him. "Maybe that's why you keep having them. Come on, talk to me. I'm all ears."

He smiled. "Heh, do you even have ears?"

Narissa smiled back and motioned him near her. "Just get over here and spill."

Dragonbane did as told. He walked over and took a seat next to his traveling partner. He wasn't exactly comfortable, but when he looked up at those caring eyes of hers, he just let it out.

"_Sigh _it's not something I want to remember, but it seems to be the only bit of my past that I have. It was my seventh birthday and I was the happiest kid in Dusk. We were a more back woods tribe, but we were at peace. Sure we had our dragon attacks, but we were strong enough to fight back with all we had and we always won, but...not that day. My aunt Greta had just presented me with my armor, which I would wear on my right of passage, which would launch my career as a slayer. Aunt Greta and I went to go help with the decorations, we were going to use the entire arena for the party just like we did every year."

Narissa interrupted. "Wow, big parties every year. Large family, or were you always so special?"

Dragonbane smiled "Always. The day I was born, I saved the entire village from the biggest attack in the history of Dusk."

She raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "And how prey-tell, did you do that?"

He smiled a wicked little grin. "That's right...you haven't heard the roar yet have you?"

She giggled a bit. "Hmhmhm, okay albeit. What's the roar?"

Dragonbane not being one to disappoint, stood up, arched his shoulders, took a deep breath and..."!"

It was so powerful that Narissa held her ears in pain. Trees shook, the painful yowls of dragons could be heard all around. All of which turned into shrieks of terror upon discovering who was setting this roar loose. It was so powerful, that dragons in another part of the world could hear it.

* * *

Meanwhile, in a land far far away, in a dark keep, surrounded by a mote of lava. A very large, and very red dragon awoke with a start. She was certain something very powerful and very dangerous was there. She looked around and nothing was there. Her donkey husband was fast asleep, coiled in her tail and their mutant children were snug in their beds. She figured she was just imagining things and went back to sleep.

* * *

Every Viking in Birk awoke with a fright to find their dragons going completely mental. Some flew in random directions, crashing into eachother. Others, Toothless included, where banging their heads against hard objects to make the terrible sound go away.

* * *

When Dragonbane finished, poor Narissa was on her back, back left leg twitching and this petrified look in her eyes.

Our hero laughed at this little scene. "And now you know."

She got up, placed a claw over his lips and simply said. "Never again." She curled back up and gave him the signal to keep going with his story.

He calmed himself and with a heavy heart, went on. "Right...where was I? Oh yes, while we were getting ready for the party, my parents had plans of their own. You see, in the process of planning the actual party, they forgot to get me a gift. So when aunt Greta took me to help with the set-up, they went into the forest to get me something special. My best guess is that they were going to hunt down a dragon and bring back a piece for me to keep as a good luck charm. I don't know how long it took them, but eventually, they found their dragon...and more so. A pack of about ten Monstrous Nightmares came barreling out of the trees. My parents, skilled as they were, kept up the good fight. When the scene was cleared we found about 6 dragon corpses, but I'm...getting ahead of myself. You see, at some point during all this I began to wonder where they were, my party was about to start and of coarse I wanted my parents there with me, gift or no gift. I went out into the woods looking. I tracked them down, they...they trained me well in tracking...I caught sight of the fight and just sat back and watched. I was always getting the best training, but I wasn't any where near ready for a real dragon fight. So I hid in the bushes, while my parents worked their magic. Alone one of them is strong, but together they were un-stoppable. They just...flowed around each other like water and the dragon blood flowed through the air. That's...where things get bad. The nightmares just cleared out...like they knew something was coming. That's when I figured it out...i-it wasn't just a random attack, it was a planned ambush, a distraction. When they were all gone and my parents were checking around waiting for another hit...th-that's when it came. A Timberjack, it cleared through the trees like a hot blade through lard. My parents..._shudder_...the-they couldn't get out of the way fast enough. I...I watched them get split in half at the waist. Before the top halves fell..th-they...they took eachother's hand and they died together...just like they wanted."

He then had what one might call a mini-breakdown. He cried for the first time in years.

Narissa was stunned. She had no idea how bad his past got. She also felt bad for making him bring it up. "Dragonbane...I-I had no idea I am so sorry."

It was hard, but he pulled together. "It's..._sniff_...quite alright. I think I needed to talk about it."

She sensed there was more. "Anything else you want to discuss while we're on the subject?"

Dragonbane nodded. "I remember his face. The Timberjack...I remember, he had a scar over his left eye and it looked like he couldn't see out of it any more. For the next 10 years I kept training, living forever with that image in my mind. I had become shut-off from everyone else. I stayed in the watch-tower, The Render and The pulverizer the only things I had to remember them...that's why I keep them close. I hardly ever use them because I don't like to tarnish them. For one week a year I would travel to my family here on the island of Birk. My uncle Stoic and cousin Hiccup are the only blood I have left, but still the story is the same, just a different tower. On my sixteenth birth day, I went on my right of passage. The day I killed my first dragon and The day I first wore the armor. I set out and tracked down the monster from my nightmares. I followed a trail into the mountains of Dusk, never was ever anything more dangerous. I found him in a cave on the highest peak. I saw the scar and just went ballistic, no dragon ever died by my hand and got it as bad as he did. I did it with no weapon, just claw-to-claw, and dragged it one for hours. I made him bleed, I ripped away the membrane of his wings, I broke off a horn."

Narissa looked a bit queasy again. "Uhg, I thought we already covered the lightening of details."

He shook out of some kind of trance. "Oh...uh...sorry."

She looked at him and got this weird feeling. "You look spooked, wh-what happened?"

Dragonbane shook his head. "Narissa...I-I wasn't entirely truthful. You're not the first dragon to speak to me."

Narissa was a bit shocked. She knew all dragons could speak human, but just chose not was Dragonbane so special? "What do you mean?"

He looked into the fire. "I had him on the ground, still breathing. I went to finish the job and that when it happened. His was deep, raspy and weak. He said 'Mercy..P-please mercy.' I couldn't believe it, but I was too angry to show the shock. I spoke back. 'Do you know who I am? Do you know what you took from me?' He was terrified and confused. I yelled 'Answer me!' He let tears flows. 'Please I don't...I don't...I-I.' I removed my helmet. The look on his face, he was never more frightened, I could tell. 'You...you...No, no, you can't be.' I went in closer. He continued. 'You don't understand. My people were in danger, Firetop and Ilsa had to be ended for our own safety. Please you have to understand!"

Narissa interupted. "You...you let him go right? Smart enough to speak, smart enough to stay away?"

Dragonbane'svoice became cold. "The difference between you and him is that you didn't hurt anyone. You were just looking for food, not a fight. He...He planned and lead the execution of the ones I cared about the most. I grabbed him on each side of the head and pulled with all my strength. His skull now decorates the nose of my ship."

She felt a cold chill run down her spine at the tone of his voice. "I suppose no one can blame you. Anyone, even a dragon would feel that kind of hate."

He sat back. "That was the start. Ever since I've been the greatest dragon slayer the world has ever known. Invincible, strong, swift and intelligent. Then I learned that if you're good at something, never do it for free. Now I'm also the richest dragon slayer the world has ever known. None of it matters though. At the end of the day, I'm still some scary old miser who would sooner toss a guy across a bar than look at him. I just wish someone would take the time to try and be my friend."

Narissa felt like she needed to comment. "Well, you got me."

Dragonbane smiled. "Speaking of which, I just spilt my guts to you, what's your story?"

She sighed. "Well, it's not exactly on the same level as yours. As you know I'm twice the size as a normal nightfury. That was the case even before I hatched, when my mom laid my egg I ruined her chances for any more kids. Dad would have been alright withthis...as long as he got a son to carry out the blood-line. Surprise surprise, he got me. Mom loved me with all her heart. She kept me close all the time. The first time she had to leave me alone to go hunting, dear old dad, tried to eat me. There were a couple close calls, but eventually I got away. Trouble is I was miles from home. So I lived my entire life on my own. I found a library and learned everything I needed, I got all my food from the woods, but I still needed a friend. I came across a small village, with a school yard where children my age played. I tried to introduce my self, but they screamed. Teacher sounded the emergency bell and next thing I know, I got over a hundred angry villagers with torches and pitch forks chasing me away. I learned I had to be alone to stay alive. Also I learned that the villages always took the best prey on their farms. So every now and then I'd go and swipe some sheep, then torches and pitchforks. I grab a nice juicy cow, torches and pitchforks. The process repeated fo years. I personally like living alone. No responsibilities, just me living la vida loca 24/7. Only downside is the males trying to get a piece of me, but I manage."

Our hero couldn't help but laugh. "Hahaha! You sure got this thing down to a science."

Narissa smiled with pride. "Yup, I am pretty adaptable. Now how about we get some sleep?"

Dragonbane nodded. "Yeah, I am getting rather wiped."

He was going to just sleep where he was, on the ground, but Narissa wouldn't have it. "No way, if this is your first sleep in 70 hours, then you're gonna be comfortable." She patted her side. "Come here."

He was a bit cautious, but He figured it was better than the ground. When he lied against her, she jumped. "Yipe! Okay, overly defensive, armor off!"

Dragonbane thought this was just absurd, but he hated to disappointafter she took the time to talk it out withhim. When it was just him and the standard cloth tunic, pants and rag shoes, he lay down again. Now he could feel her, her scales smooth, warm to the touch. She wrapped her tail around him to substitute a blanket. He turned to thank her, but she was already asleep. Dragonbane too started to drift off, all the while hearing Narissa's heart-beat. For the frsttime in years, no nightmares, no screams, no images of his parents' death. Only that rhythmic sound.

Dragonbane unconsciously smiled and thought again and again. "_finally...peace."_


	10. Chapter 9: The Balance

Starcrossed.

Chapter 9: The balance

* * *

When morning came Narissa was the first to wake up. Sun was shining, birds were singing, and things just seemed a bit brighter. She let out a yawn, then looked over to check on our hero. Dragonbane was still fast asleep. Not once had he woken up in shock from a nightmare. She smiled at him, knowing that it was because she stayed close to him. He moment was interrupted by a gurgling sound coming from the region of her stomach. So, carefully as she could as not to disturb Dragonbane, she slowly got up. Using her tail to carefully lower him to the ground. Once he was secure, Narissa went off in search of breakfast. If she remembered correctly there was a river near-by that was filled with the biggest and tastiest salmon in that part of the world.

* * *

About ten minutes later, Dragonbane woke up with a smile on his face. For as long as he could remember, he never had a night without fear, but now. He wanted to thank Narissa for what she had done for him, but she was gone. He remembered that last night she had said she didn't have anything to eat that day. So he just left it to she went to get food. He knew he could track her down if she was gone for too long. He got his armor back on, but left the helmet in his satchel. He saw the fire was still burning and groaned a little. "Ah, you'd think she would at least remember to douse the flame before she left."

An eerily calm voice came from behind him. "We wouldn't want that now, would we Mr. Dragonbane?"

Our hero turned to face the source of this new voice. It was a man about an inch or so taller than him. He was the same build as dragon bane, slim, muscular, with broad shoulders, like a true athlete. He wore some kind of full body tights, with a mask that hid his entire face. The colors were split down the middle, Black on his left and white on his right. Where the eyes should be, were an image of a yellow star on the black side and a black circle on the white side. Nine red bands, two on each arm, two on each ankle and one around the collar. On his chest was the Chinese symbol of yin and yang.

Dragonbane got defensive. "Who are you? How in the world do you know my name?"

The man stayed perfectly calm at the outburst, hands behind his back. "My name, good sir, is Equinox. Well, I don't suppose good really suits you does it?"\

Dragonbane was perplexed to say the least. "What d you mean?"

Equinox stood like a statue. "Well, I think it's obviouse. It stands to reason that you are a contradiction to the ages." He started walking, Dragonbane did the same. The two kept on in a perfect circle for some time. "Your ferocity is rivaled only by your gentle touch, Your intense greed by your absolute willingness to throw your life on the line for others, Your hatred of society by your want for companionship."

Dragonbane's eyes widened. "That's what you meant when you commented on dousing the flame. You think I'm...with her?"

Equinox showed no emotion. "It's easy to see Mr. Dragonbane. Fezziwig saw it well enough."

Our hero got a little agitated. "Exactly how long have you been following me?"

The specter answered. "For quite some time now. You see, we are of a rare breed you and I. Besides the two of us their is only one other. A being of perfect balance, much like we are."

Dragonbane raised an eye-brow. "Balance?"

Equinox explained. "Darkness and light, order and chaos, good and evil, yin and yang. I was created to be one that kept these two parts in perfect sync with myself. My powers reflect that. I sought to ensure that balance was ensured throughout the world. One good life in exchange for an evil one, one city destroyed in return for another. It got to the point where my want for balance flung me into chaos. It took the actions of the other to help me regain my balance. I've become a being that exists out side of time and space, interjecting where I see fit."

Our hero stopped and so did Equinox. "What does this have to do with me?" Dragonbane asked.

"Equinox was silent for a moment. "...That day,I learned that those of us in balance, must be careful. Less we accidentaly tip the scales in the wrong direction."

Our hero was getting angry. "Get to the point!"

Equinox almost showed tension in his voice, but kept it hidden. "The point is that we are doomed unless we choose to tip the scales. It is our fate to choose which side we walk, before they rip us apart." He started to walk away. "She really is quite spectacular Dragonbane. If I found my self in your position, I would hold on to her and never let her go."

Dragonbane had one last question. "Why tell me all this? What difference is it to you how I live my life?"

Equinox stopped. "Because, if you can willingly tip the scales and make your life work, then maybe there is hope for me." With that, he vanished into fin air.

Dragonbane couldn't believe his eyes. What was Equinox? More importantly was he right? Narissa was something of a miracle worker. His nightmares went away because he was with her. He never laughed as hard when he was with her. Just how well were they getting along. He didn't want to put too much thought into it. After all, he could be wrong, and this Equinox fellow could just be another lunatic.

Either way Dragonbane decided it would be best if he caught up with Narissa. She would be where the food is and he hadn't eaten in a while either. He started off on this new day, with a new skip in his step and some thinking to do.

* * *

Equinox levitated high above the trees, watching Dragonbane navigate the forest. Then for the first time in all his life, he laughed. "Hmhmhmhm, That boy doesn't let anything get him down does he? Just picks up and moves on to the next event. Doesn't sound like a bad idea actually." He waved a hand in the air and a mystic vortex opened before him. "If we don't meet again, then this encounter was well met." He entered the vortex and disappeared without a trace.


	11. Chapter 10: Stand by me

Starcrossed.

Chapter 10: Stand by me.

* * *

Narissa was having a bit of trouble. Normally when she fished, she would glide above the water, follow the little buggers and just snap when she got herself lined up. With the busted wing, it was now all about timing. She watched the river intently, not moving so much as a muscle. Then when the time was right, snap! She thrust her head in the water and pulled out a nice big one. To most nightfuries it would have taken a few bites, but Narissa, Big and beautiful as she was, took the entire thing down whole in a gulp or two. She took a moment to lay back and relax. There were about two or three misses in between each one, but she managed to grab herself four salmon just as big as the one she just wolfed down.

She took a moment to examine her claws. One thing she noticed about herself is that she got bored easy. Now that her belly was full, she had nothing else to do So, she figured she might as well go back to Dragonbane to see if he woke up yet. Before she could take a third step, she heard a rustling in the bushes. Narissa stood her ground and got ready for a fight, but dropped her guard as a baby nightfury tumbled out of the bushes. It was a sweet little thing. It shook off the spill and looked around. When the little darling caught sight of Narissa, a cute little smile spread across it's face. Un-afraid, the little fury toddled up to Narissa to investigate a new person.

She couldn't help herself. That adorable bit of sweetness was just too cute. "Oh, hey there sweetie." She nuzzled him. "You are just a gem, you know that?"

The little scamp made the cutest little purring noise. He could tell by the scent that it wasn't mama, but he wasn't one to be shy.

Narissa just loved the attention. "_sigh_ you're so precious. I could just eat you up."

It was that phrase that riggered things to go nuts. You see it was at that moment that the mother fury stepped onto the scene. Normally she was rather soccial, but when she sees a night fury that's twice her size, that close to her baby, using that exact phrase. Well, that was the trigger for an attack. She tackled Narissa, then jumped back to defend her baby. She gave a warning growl, followed by a menacing hiss.

Narissa, on her back, rubbing her head, gave a rather miffed look to her attacker. "It's just an expression. Jeez! Could you be a little more paranoid?"

The nightfury mother just continued to growl. She wrapped her child in her tail, then lifted him onto her back. When he as secure, she took off into the air.

Narissa was sad. She watched her little friend dissapear into the distance. "_sigh_ It must be nice."

A rather smooth voice came from seemingly out of nowhere. "Hmhmhmhm. Awwww, poor Narissa. Always the Nanny, never the mom. heheheh."

She turned her head in the direction of the mockery. "Daken, why am I not surprised?"

A Nadder, about her height, mostly blue scales with a touch of green and yellow on the wings, strolled up to her with an amused smile on his face. He walked around her a few times to give her the usual once-over. 'You know, some males might take this oppertunity to have their way with the poor lady in distress."

Narissa just rolled her eyes. "Most males don't want to lose an eye."

Daken chuckled. "Hahaha. Ah, still as fiesty as ever." He took that moment to help her back to her feet. That's when he noticed the wing. "Oh, don't tell me the proud loner went and got herself grounded. Mmmmmm now I'm really tempted."

She pulled a rather...suggestive pose. Just begging him to test her patience. "Then what are you waiting for big boy? I'm right here."

Now, he was in no sense of the word stupid. He knew that the second he tried anything, she would have him pinned, with his throat ten feet away from his body. "No thanks. Un-like most of the brutes that roam this deep in the forest, I would never make that type of advancement without a ladies consent."

Narissa regained her posture. "Hmhmhm. That's why I like you Daken. So desperate for companionship, yet too scared to simply take what you want."

Daken got up close to her. Rubbing against her. "Well, can you really blame me? Someone as...entising as yourself, yet such power. All the agility of a nightfury, but with the strength that the rest of usare gifted with."

She smiled at him. "Please, you're gonna make me blush. As sorry as I am to dissapoint, I'm afraid you're a bit too late."

He was startled to say the least. He looked at her with utter disbelief. "No. No, there is no way that the great bachelorette of dragon-kind, would ever settle down after all this time running."

Narissa strolled around her taunting him even more so. "Believe it. I met the greatest guy. Strong, smart, fast, loyal. A little rough around the edges, but then again, I'm not exactly on the straight and narrow."

Daken got this look in his eyes, like he was trying to burn a hole in her story. "Hmmm, I see. Would this guy have a name?"

She teased a bit. "Oh, I'm sure you've heard of him."

He got agressive. He put his foot to her back and pressed her down to the ground. "Well then where is this fantastic fellow?"

Narissa was un-nerved."Intimidate all you want Dak. He'll kick your scaly backside all over this woodland if he finds you hurting me."

He was a bit agrivated. "Who? Who is it? Exactly who is it that won't like what he sees? Who, my dear narissa, is going to stop me from doing whatever I like to you?"

Daken was answered by some harmonic whistling. He looked in the direction it came from, only to be struck with a very big, hollowed-out log. It kept going for about ten feet, with him with it. After he shook off the impact and struggled to stand up. When he got a view of his attacker, he nearly had a heart attack.

Dragonbane jumped from a hill-side and confidently marched up to Narissa. "Is there a problem here bright-eyes? Please say yes, I could use a new sword holster."

She just smiled as sweetly as she could. "Nah, just some creepy friend of mine. Don't worry, he was just leaving. Right Dak?"

Daken didn't know what to say. "Th-this? He is this...man you spoke of?"

Dragonbane gave a rather intimidating smirk. "What of it? Polly wanna get his jaw busted."

Narissa put a hand in front of him. "Easy."

Daken was both confused and angry. "Narissa, I don't know if this is some sort of sick joke, but it isn't funny. That's Dragonbane. He personally has killed hundreds of us. He uses our corpses in his decorating, _all _his decorating! He'd sooner make you into a set of curtains."

Dragonbane and Narissa looked at eachother, then burst into laughter. Narissa was the first to speak. "Hahaha, Yeah right. Look Dak, I appreciate the concern, but don't worry your pretty little head over me."

Dragonbane added. "Trust me, if I had any ill intent, she would be dead by now. Just go home and clean yourself up, you're a wreck."

Daken shook his head."Seeing as how you'd speak to him, I assume you trust him well enough, or you were too scared to think of anything else. As a friend, I'm telling you to watch your back around that one." With that he flew off.

Our hero shook his head. "You know that loon?"

Narissa smiled. "Just some dork who keeps chasing after something he's not gonna get. So, anything interesting happen to you this morning?"

Dragonbane put his hands behind his head as the two started to continue their journey. 'Nah, nothing out of the ordinary. You?"

She shook her head. 'Just the standard fishing trip."

He gave her a playful bop in the ribs. "Hey, race ya to the top of that hill, first one between those two trees wins." He started running.

Narissa laughed and bolted to catch up. "Hahaha. Hey no fair you got a head start!"

The two laughed, ran, and she jumped on him to get an advantage. Over-all it was a good start to a new day for the both of them.

* * *

Back at the village Hiccup saddled up Toothless for a search flight. Astrid ran to catch him before take-off.

She wanted to know what was going on. "Hey, where you off to?"

Hiccup strapped himself in. "Dragonbane's been gone for twenty-four hours. I've got to find him."

She grabbed his arm. "He could be anywhere by now, probably out hunting. Besides, from what I here he's the kind of guy one doesn't worry about."

He pulled away and got ready to take off. "Not when the one is half of the only family he has left." With that he and Toothless were off. Toothless was impressed with Hiccup's determination. This was what made him a good friend. The nightfury was a bit worried though. Just what couldbe keeping a warrior as strong as Dragonbane?


	12. Chapter 11: two lost souls

Starcrossed.

Chapter 11: Two lost souls.

* * *

Dragonbane and Narissa we're genuinely having a great day. They laughed, they joked, they talked.

"Okay, what's the absolute worst thing you've ever tasted?" Narissa asked with a smile.

Dragonbane thought for a moment. "That would be...Ah, see I was climbing this really epic mountain on a dare and At one point I got lost. All the food was gone and I was starving. I was rummaging through my pack and out of the blue, this eel falls out of one of the spare pockets."

She made this face that dripped with disgust. "Eeeewwww. I'll eat almost anything you drop in front of me, but..._eel_?"

He laughed a bit. "Hmhmhm, Wait..hehehe, that's not even the worst part. I caught that thing about 3 months in advance to use as a repellent, so it was rancid, decomposing and I think there may have been a few maggots."

Narissa giggled and glared accusingly. "Hehehe, Y-You didn't."

Dragonbane shook his head. "I was starving! Oh gods, all of the things I did just to make the taste start to fade. Okay, your turn. What do you regret more than anything in the world?"

If her scales weren't as black as night, you would have seen her blush redder than a rose. "Well...there was this one time... Oh, It's so embarrassing."

He gave her another playful punch in the arm. "Come on, I told you my story."

Narissa looked away shyly. "Okay...well, it was about a year of so ago. I met this little village girl on an island a few miles to the south. She was picking flowers around a lake I was fishing at, she saw me and I guess the little angel was more curious than causcious. She said hello and me being friendly as I am gave her a bit of a wave."

Dragonbane laughed a bit " Hehehehehe. Oh, this should be good. So did you do the standard domesticated pet act?"

She nodded. "Yes, I followed her around a bit, she'd throw a stick, I'd bring it back, she'd rubb under my chin and I...for some strange reason just went weak kneed and fell to my side. The little darling rested against me and rubbed my head gently. She told me that she wished she had a puppy, so she could have moments like that all the time. I, being sweet and understanding, searched the forest for days, then I found a mother wolf, who just had a litter of pups. I waited for a while, then while she slept I swiped one of them and brought it to the girl. She was over-joyed. The girl and that pup were as close as close could be. One day I got drowsy during while flying over to visit. I went to the usual place, but I wasn't watching where I was going and..."

His eyes went wide. "Oh, don't tell me you landed on the puppy."

Narissa shook her head. "No...I landed on the little girl."

Dragonbane burst out laughing. "Ahhahahahahahaha! Oh-oh, that...Pfffahhahahahahahaaaaaah! That's rich."

She got defensive. "Don't laugh! I felt awful, then it turns out her parents followed her after she explained that a dragon brought her a wolf pup. Then there was screaming, shouting, torches, pitchforks, and one of them threw a bucket at me and it hit me in the eye, which hurt like no tomorrow...Hmmmheeeheh!" She clasped her mouth shut as she realized she had just passed over a bush, which brushed up against her under-belly."

He raised an eyebrow. "What was that?"

You wouldn't think a dragon Narissa's size would look timid, but she did. "N-nothing."

Dragonbane crossed his arms. "Don't tell me nothing what was th...Oh, Didn't you say something about being sensitive in the under-carriage?" A wicked little grin appeared on his face."

She backed up a bit. "Dragonbane? Why are you looking at me like that? No, please no nonononono!" She would have gotten another no in, but Dragonbane minus armor, tackled her and started to tickle mercilessly.

Narissa was laughing uncontrollably and he would not let up. "I knew I'd find some way to get back at you for the washing and the back-sass."

She could hardly breath. "Hahahahahaha! Ohohohohoheheheha! Y-you...Hmhmhmhmhmhm! You're so going to pay for this!" She wanted to sound mad,but it was pointless. The smile never left her face. This continued for sometime. Those two could both swear that hey never laughed so hard before. They tussled a bit, but eventually stopped rolling about in the grass and just lied down. Narissa curled up all comfortable, Dragonbane resting against her side.

There was a calm that just made things seem so right. Dragonbane broke the silence. "Thanks again, for everything. I didn't think I'd ever know what it was like to have a friend."

Narissa smiled at him sweetly. "Awww, right back at ya tough guy."

He laughed. " think we could have been arguing the whole trip."

She giggled a bit too. "Hmhmhmhm, yeah. I'm glad we patched things up. You know, you're a pretty sweet guy once you let your guard down."

Dragonbane gave her an accusing look. "Really? You're not still scared that I might turn on you at any moment?"

Narissa shook her head. "Nope. I'm actually starting to feel safe around you. The way you clobbered Daken was just fantastic. All for little old me?" She gave one of her cute little looks when she asked that last part.

He rolled his eyes. "Well, I think little might be a bit generous, but yeah. In my book, you're alright."

She couldn't help it. She moved her head over and nuzzled him. "Same to you. My hero."

Dragonbane blushed for the first time in his life. "Well...ummm...I-I uhhh...So how's the wing holding up?"

Narissa focused on er bandaged wing and tried to wiggle it. Just a little movement, but no pain. "All goes well, I could probably fly us the rest of the way by tomorrow."

He got a bit defensive. "No thanks. I got enough of that getting in to this little predicament of man was meant to fly, we would have wings."

She gave him this look that just screamed '_oh really?'_ "Is that so, Mr. fearless?"

Dragonbane wouldn't let her push this on him. "Don't get snippy with me. I found you're weakness I can have you at my mercy again in no time flat."

Narissa laughed a bit. Hahaha, Okay okay, but this isn't over. Sooner or later you will get in the air."

He smiled. "We'll see. Shall we go?"

She nodded. "After you."

Dragonbane got his armor back on and the two were back on the trek to . Unaware of anything ,but eachother.


	13. Chapter 12:What the heart wants

Starcrossed.

Chapter 12: What the heart wants.

* * *

Narissa went up ahead and was amazed by what she saw. A field of flowers, or every color you could think of. She had always flown straight to the cave, but this time she could take the time to see everything nature had to offer. She went through and took the chance to enjoy the smell. When she moved in closer to get a better wiff, a butter-fly fluttered out of one and landed on her nose. It tickled and she giggled a bit, then it flew away.

She hadn't noticed Dragonbane pass her, so he rushed her a bit. "Come on, we gotta keep moving. I'm sure that yor little friend of yours isn't the only one trying to stake a claim."

Narissa rolled her eyes. "Don't worry so much. Take a moment, smell the flowers, enjoy the little bit of sunshine we got left before sundown."

He paused for a moment and let out a sigh. "Well, I suppose it couldn't hurt." He bent over and sniffed a daisy. His eyes began to water and then he sneezed. The force of it knocked him on his back on to a large group of big yellow flowers, which erupted in pollen when he landed. Dragonbane was now yellow on his front side, from head to toe.

Narissa laughed. "Hmhmhmhmhehehe. Oh that's such a good color on you. Match that with your eyes and you got all your primary colors."

Dragonbane didn't say a word. He got up, walked over to Narissa, who looked up at him with a bit of worry as to what he would do. He simply took his index finger and drew a little smiley face on her forehead in pollen, then smeared more of it on her lips and drew little circles around her eyes. She, at this point, was a bit miffed. He smiled. "What's wrong? Laugh clown, laugh. hahahaha!"

She responded to this by tackling him. They wrestled a bit. Not like before in the mud, when they were trying to put the hurt on each-other for dominance. Now, they were just batting each-other around, no intention of pain, just...playing. After a while they stopped, in the process Dragonbane had Narissa on her back and he rested on top of her.

Narissa looked at him with a warm look in her eyes. "So, you having fun?"

He was quiet for a moment, then he nodded his head and smiled. "You know what, I am. To tell you the truth, it's not a familiar feeling. My entire life it's been a simple pattern. Fight dragons, sulk in tower, fight dragons, sulk in tower, back and forth for years at a time."

She looked a bit sad. "You mean you never once stopped to just goof around and have a good time?"

Dragonbane smiled at her. "I never had anyone to show me how. Narissa...There's something I've been wanting to tell you, but the odd thing is...I'm just not sure what it is."

Narissa reached up and nuzzled him a little. "I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually. You're smart like that."

He shook his head and smiled,trying to hide his blushing. "Thanks, but battle plans and inner turmoil aren't exactly on the same level."

She rolled her eyes, while he got off her. "Oh, learn to take a compliment. Say, why don't we just camp out here, it's starting to get dark anyway."

Dragonbane rubbed the back of his head. "I don't know. It's an awful lot of open ground, good place to get ambushed."

Narissa got up and walked up close to him. She gave him that adorable little look that she had made her trademark. "Awwww, come on D.B. It's so nice here. The ground is nice and warm, the flowers smell nice and...quite frankly they tickle in just the right way. Plus I smell lots of rabbits over that little incline that I can snack on."

He gave her an accusing look. "First the raccoon and now the rabbits. Do you have some kind of secret war going on with the little woodland creatures? Cause I had my suspicions when that gopher_disappeared_."

She gave a smile and took a defensive tone. "Have you ever had rabbit? It's like fuzzy sardines, you can **not **eat just one."

Dragonbane shook his head and laughed. "You are a certifiable nut-case."

Narissa brushed his chin with the tip of her tail. "Takes one to know one." The two shared a laugh and decided to set up camp.

* * *

Night soon came and the two were once more settled in for a peaceful sleep. Dragonbane just stared up at the stars. Narissa was a bit curious. "What are you looking at?"

He shrugged. "Just some old legends. We vikings have always been told that the greatest legends of our people are told through the images that the gods themselves paint in the sky." He pointed to a cluster on the right. "Like there, that Thundercall the strong. He once challenged a massive groncle to a tug-of war in order to save his village. And over there, is one-eyed O'Hagen the swift, one day while hiking he saw a massive flock of nadders erupt from a cave and he raced down hill to warn the village before their arrival."

She was intrigued. "Did he make it?"

Dragonbane nodded. "Yeah, but by the time he got their, everyone had already fled. It's hard to miss a flock that size"

The two shared a laugh. Then Narissa pointed out an interesting one. "What about that one?"

He was hesitent, but answered. "That's...My parents."

Narissa felt a bit of guilt wash over her. "Oh my...I'm sorry. I didn't..."

Dragonbane held up a hand to silence her. "Don't worry about it. I'm glad people still notice them. Before I came around, they were the best at what they did. Now...All we have is memories."

She leaned in and nuzzled his cheek. "I wish I could have met them."

He gave her a rather incredulous look. "Are you kidding? They would have skinned you on sight."

Narissa just smiled at him. "Yeah, but at least I got to meet you."

Dragonbane smiled at her, then gave her a gentle scratching beneath the chin. She purred, then gave a little retort. "You are such a tease."

He smiled "I know, but it's just so adorable when you're like this."

There was then an abrupt gurgling sound. Narissa picked her head up. "That wasn't me."

Dragonbane was a bit bashful. "Heh. I guess I'm a little peckish."

She gave him an accusing look. "Dragonbane, I could compare that to a starving wolf. When was the last time you ate?"

He shrugged. "I'm guessing this morning. I packed some dinner-rolls, but I ran out after I chucked that log at Daken."

Narissa couldn't believe it. "Jeez! First your sleep-deprived, then your mal-norished. For the perfect warrior, you sure do have a lot of health problems."

Dragonbane rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll get something descent in the morning."

She seemed sceptical. "No way." She got up, which knocked Dragonbane onto the ground. "Wait here, I'm gonna get you something."With that she ran off into the darkness.

He rolled his eyes again and mumbled to himself. "Tells me I need to eat. Do this this dragonbane, that's not healthy, I'll eat anything you put in front of me, but that won't stop me from talking down to people. Smart-mouthed, over-grown gecko."

He was then whacked in the back and knocked about ten feet away. He shot up to see what attacked him, but was then hit in the face with a large salmon. After he pulled it off his face, he looked up to see Narissa with a rather satisfied smile and a raised eyebrow. Dragonbane was a little embarrassed. "Uh...How much of that did you hear?"

She curled back around him. "Not enough to hold a grudge. Now eat your fish."

Dragonbane did as told. He didn't need to roast it. He had been out alone in the woods before, he was used to taking what he got. Quite frankly he was glad he did. One thing he noticed about Narissa is the fact that beneath the sarcasm and the fact that she could take your head off at any moment, she was really nice. The kind of person who takes care of who she cares about. If she wasn't a giant fire-breathing reptile, maybe these feeling wouldn't be so weird. He also noticed that she purrs when she sleeps, which is adorable in any sense of the word.

Our hero finished his fish, closed his eyes and passed out for the night. His mind now filled with questions about where this relationship was going.


	14. Chapter 13: A termite in the wood work

Starcrossed.

Chapter 13: A termite in the wood-work.

* * *

The next morning was a peaceful one. Dragonbane and Narissa both awoke at the same time. It was a sweet good morning from each, then down to buisness. They cleaned up the camp-site and Dragonbane took out a cloth from his pack and started cleaning his armor. Narissa, feeling a little off, checked her reflection in the back of the pulverizer. Her face was still covered in pollen. She figured it would be a good idea to head back to the pond where she got the fish and wash up.

While she was there she got a very strange feeling. Like she was being watched. She scanned around for anyone else. "Hello?" Nothing.

She went back to washing. At that point she heard a rustling in the bushes. "Okay, who's there? Come on out." Nothing.

Once more Narissa turned back to the water. She leaned in and drank, taking in a few gulps, but stopped. She heard something padding on the soft ground behind her. "Oooohhh, Dragonbane. Sneaking up on me hmmmm? Well...your gonna have to do better than th..." She was startled. Instead of Dragonbane, it was a monstrous nightmare. It had this look in it's eye's. Like some sort of primal want that burned in it's eyes.

Narissa, not being one to jump into conflict, tried to reason with him. "Hey there, tough guy. Umm...I don't suppose we could work this out in a civilized manner."

He just growled menacingly and let a sinister smile creep across his face. "...Woman..."

She figured as much. "Well, I didn't want to do this, but you forced my hand." With everything she had, she rushed him. This knocked him back, but did not deter him. Narissa dug in her claws to keep dominance, but the nightmare was strong. He flipped over and slammed her onto the ground. He tried to pin her, but she always was the slippery devil. She tried getting on top of him for the height advantage, but those spikes on his back were not pleasant. He thrashed about madly trying to shake her off and was successful. He then tried to pounce on her, but her swiftness was excellent. She easily maneuvered around him and clamped her jaws around his neck. Now this would be effective if she had held on till she heard a snap, but once he stopped moving she let go. This prompted him to take her by surprise. He now had her pinned, on her back, ready for...what may occur.

She was frightened. Narissa was an accomplished fighter, but when it got too hairy she could always take off into the air, but now. Her fright at a single moment, was over powered by hope, when a familiar, yet somewhat angry voice rang out. "Hey!"

There was a strange whistling sound, as the render whizzed in, cutting off one of the nightmares horns, making him shreak in pain. He glared at the blade and tracked it to it's owner. Dragonbane, armor-clad, helmet on, shouted at the beast. "Get your filthy claws OFF HER!"

The nightmare, too stupid to recognize the legend, charged into battle. Dragonbane didn't move. As the nightmare closed his jaws around our hero, he was startled by an intense pain at the contact zone. His teeth could not penetrate the armor and with that force he chipped a tooth. Dragonbane smiled beneath his helmet. 'What's wrong? Haven't you ever heard of a jaw-breaker? Hmhmhmhmhahahaha!"

That laugh. It made Narissa cringe a bit. Then she finaly saw why Dragonbane was so feared. Before the nightmare could react, Dragonbane slammed his fist onto the beast's snout. This left a pretty big dent, with blood running from the nostril. The nightmare was frightened by the un expected strength. He tried to fly away, but He felt a sharp pain in his tail. Dragonbane dug in his clawed gauntlets. "Uh-uh-uhhhh. Your not going anywhere." He said in an ice-cold voice. With one mighty yank, he pulled the nightmare back to earth. When the beast was onthe ground, Dragonbane ran in front of him so he was eye to eye with his prey. He raised his hand and with claws primed, he drove his hand through the nightmare's skull.

Narissa was mortified beyond belief. She knew he was strong, but that...that was horrific. Dragonbane turned to her. He pulled off his helmet and looked into her eyes with concern. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, but the look of fear never left the nightmare's body. Dragonbane took off the gauntlets and placed a hand on her cheek. He moved her head so she was looking him in the eyes. "It's over now. Don't look at him. Just come with me, we'll patch up your scratches. The two went off to fix her up. Trying to forget what just happened.

* * *

Hiccup and Toothless soared over the forest, hoping to see some sign of him, but no luck. Snotlout, who joined the search about an hour in, reported back on his nightmare. "Hey guys! I think we found the dragon he was fighting."

Hiccup seemed happy. "Good, he never leaves a fight un-finished. If we've got it, then we got him."

The two young vikings steered their dragons in the direction Snotlout pointed out. It took some time, but they found what they were looking for. A nightfury, twice the size of Toothless, with sky-blue eyes. They landed a good distance away as to not scare her off. They watched her closely and she seemed upset. Sad upset...Not the angry upset they were expecting from a giant rampaging beast that just lost a fight. Then they were shocked beyond belief. There was Dragonbane, out of his armor, which they had never seen him as. He had some large clumps of wool, that he had taken in his brief raid on the med-shack. He extended a hand and to their surprize the dragon gave him hers. It looked like he was cleaning a wound on her arm.

As they tried to wrap their minds around this Dragonbane's head turned sharply in their direction. They ducked down. Snotlout seemed in a panic. "Oh crud, did he see us?"

Hiccup gave him a puzzled look. "Why are you worried about that? It's my cousin, he's not gonna kill us. On a side note, he does have amazing hearing maybe he did see us."

They were interupted by a familiar voice. "Yeah maybe he did."

The two jumped and turned with a start to see Dragonbane perched on a tree branch right above them. He laughed. "Hahahahaha! Oh, it's still too easy to scare you twerps."

Hiccup was releaved. "Dragonbane, thank Odin your alright."

Our hero seemed puzzled. "Why wouldn't I be alright?"

Snotlout interjected. "Because you were last seen putting the smack on a giant Nightfury and haven't been seen for almost three days since."

Dragonbane Smiled. "Oh yeah, I suppose I should have told you about that before I left with the supplies."

Hiccup interrupted. "Speaking of which, were you just tending to that dragon's wounds."

Dragonbane rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, Narissa got into a pretty bad srap and she's still pretty shaken up about it."

Snotlout was confused. "Wait a sec, you named her?"

Dragonbane shook his head. "No you dork, her parents named her, she told me her name."

Hiccup seemed a bit concerned. "She...Talked to you?"

Toothless was shocked, no dragon was ever supposed to talk to a human. Dragonbane confirmed. "Yeah, she introduced herself, I did the same, now I'm helping her get back to her cave on Mt. Greyden since I busted up her wing, speaking of which, that's probably healed up by now. If I could get off topic for a sec cous."

Hiccup nodded. "Go ahead." He said hoping that this wouldn't get more weird.

Dragonbane continued. "Well...It's like this. What word...would you use to describe how you feel about that Astrid girl you introduced me to at the banquet?"

Snotlout interrupted jokingly. "Oh he _loves_ her!" Hiccup punched him in the arm. Lacking proper strength, it didn't do much."

Dragonbane rubbed his chin. "So that's what it's called. I just hope I can tell her straight-up."

Hiccup got confused again. "Tell who?"

Dragonbane answered with a smile. "Narissa of coarse. _Sigh_I tell you what, I never thought I'd meet anyone who could make me feel, well...happy. They way she smiles, the way she laughs, she has the most angelic singing voice. Listen to me, I sound like a wimp. I need to punch something." For good measure he decked Snotlout.

Hiccup was stunned. "How...could you be in love...with a dragon?"

Toothless gave a disapproving growl. Dragonbane gave a little retort. "Oh, you wanna say different. Maybe you want to give her a go?"

The male fury looked over the edge at his, while beautiful, larger counter-part, he cringed a bit. Then sank in silence.

Hiccup was still trying to talk sense into him. "Dragonbane, this is nuts. Are you sure about this?"

Dragonbane smiled as he answered. "I am cousin. She's everything I could want in a wife. She's smart, she can hold her own in a fight, she thinks I'm funny, she looks out for me and I do for her. I think I might have found the one woman that I want to spend the rest of my life with."

Hiccup didn't want to argue with him, frankly because Dragonbane could grind him into a fine powder with his bare hands. "Okay if you really feel this way. Hey wait a sec where's Snotlout?"

Dragonabne reassured. "Oh, he took off in the middle of my speech. You head on back too, You're ladies probably waiting for you."

Hiccup got back on Toothless. 'Yeah, good luck cous." He waved as he and his dragon took off back to the village.

Dragonbane thought for a moment. "_Now that I figured theses feelings out, how do I explain them to her?"_

Snotlout dismounted in a hurry. He ran to the gang to tell them what happened. When he got there, Fishlegs made the obvious comment. "Dude! What happened to your eye?"

Snotlout drove the conversation away from the shiner that Dragonbane gave him for sport. "Never mind that. You guys will NOT believe what I just heard."


	15. Chapter 14:When words fail

Starcrossed.

Chapter 14: When words fail.

* * *

Narissa was still a bit frazzled. Dragonbane did his best to comfort her. "There there. It's all over. I'm here now."

She spoke in a shaky voice. 'I...I don't know what happened. Normally I could get myself out of stuff like that."

He rubbed the top of her head to calm her. "I know, I know. If you could fly, then you could've gotten out of that scrap no trouble."

Narissa Purred a bit, but stopped when she continued. "Yeah, but...it jus-just didn't feel right. When I had his neck in my jaws I just couldn't bring myself to end him."

Dragonbane didn't want to mention it, but didn't want to leave her hanging. "It might of helped if you turned the flame on him."

She shook her head. "I know, I should have thought of that. The worst part was...when he had me down, when he was ready to take me. I was so afraid."

He hugged her tight. "Don't worry. No one's gonna hurt you. I won't let them."

Narissa smiled and nuzzled him. "Hmhmhm. That makes it twice you saved me."

Dragonbane blushed. "Well, a promise is a promise. Plus I...I really don't want to lose the only friend I've got." He wanted to tell her right then and there, but the words just wouldn't budge."

She smiled. " By the by, who was that in the bushes you were talking to?"

He pulled back to focus. "Oh, that was just my cousin and one of his little friends."

Narissa got a devious little grin on her face. "Did that cute little Nightfury come with him?"

Dragonbane kept the look of shock to himself. "Uh...yes."

She was curious. "Did he happen to seem...you know...interested?" She looked hopeful.

He shook his head. "Mmmmm, sorry Narissa. Toothless was a bit...oh how do I put this...um intimidated."

Narissa looked disappointed. "Oh..._Sigh_ I guess the big girl just isn't that much of a sight."

Dragonbane lifted Narissa's head so they were eye to eye. "Don't talk like that. You are beautiful. You're eyes alone could make any man fall head over heels for you."

She smiled at him. "Well well well. It seems like you've got something on your mind."

He was nervous."Ummm...well uh...hey, hows that wing of yours? Must've healed up by now."

Narissa's expression dropped a level or two. "So not what I was expecting. But yeah it does feel better. Can we get this cast off?"

Dragonbane was happy to oblige. "Sooner said than done, my bright eyed companion." He jumped up on Narissa's back. "Hold still." He slipped on one of his gauntlets and ever so slightly moved it under the bandage. With a gentle tug, snip went the bandages and whoosh went the wing. Un-furled and better than ever.

Narissa smiled as she examined her full wing span. "Oh yes! Mamma's back in the skies baby!"

Dragonbane laughed. "Hahahaha! Glad to see you got yourself out of that slump. I bet you can't wait to get back in the air."

She gave a devious little smile."You'd win that bet. Hmhmhmhm." She started up a good run, with Dragonbane still on her back.

He was a bit un-nerved. "Uh...Narissa? What are you doing? I'm up here!"

Narissa laughed. "Hahaha! I know. Hang on!" She took off into the air like a bat out of hell. Dragonbane hung on for dear life. The two went high into the air. Narissa smiled as the sun-light hit her face. "Ah, the heavens are happy because an angel has been returned to them."

Our hero was less than enthusiastic. "Okay, so you can get into the air again. Can we go down now?"

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, don't be such a baby. Just seat yourself nice and firm and let me take care of you. Okay?"

Dragonbane was reluctant, but he didn't see anyway out of this. "Okay, just take it easy on me."

Narissa shook her head and smiled. She made a sharp turn and sliced a cloud in two on the turn. She went up down, did a few loops, and weaved in and out of some cool rock formations. Dragonbane was getting a bit frazzled, but after a little while, he calmed down. In fact, he was enjoying this. The wind in his hair, the rush of being so high up. Like sailing through stormy seas. After they did a few more show-offy moves, they turned toward . Near the peak, just as Narissa said, her cave. They landed near the opening and Dragonbane jumped off.

He was exstatic. "Wow,just wow. That was incredible."

Narissa giggled a little. "Hehehe, I know! I told you I would get you in the sky."

Dragonbane gave her an accusing look. "Yeah, then again you didn't need to be so sneaky."

She Smiled sweetly and got in close. "Then you'd never give in." She gave him a little kiss on the cheek.

He was so red with bashfulness. "Bah...zib...uhhhh...Oh my! I left my armor and weapons back there. I should probably get those before a bandit our someother terrible kind of problem gets to them. I'll be right back." He cut for the cave entrance like no tomorrow.

Narissa was a bit surprized with herself. "_Did I just do that? Oh by Fenrir's maw, what have I done? It probably freaked him out. What if He never comes back? What if he comes back, but with an army and claims I put him under some kind of spell? Oh, nonononononononononononono..."_

* * *

Dragonbane was having a similar episode. "_...nononononononononono! What the helheim was that? Why did I just run? Why didn't I tell her? Why didn't I jump at the chance? That proves she feels the same way! I had the perfect window of opportunity! I can stand in front of the stream of fire from six nadders and not flinch! Why is this so hard?"_ He didn't know what to do. He was so busy thinking about what just happened that he tripped over his stuff while running. He shook off the fall and got his armor on. He tried so hard to find the right way to tell her how he felt.

* * *

Meanwhile at the dining halls of Birk. Snotlout just finished giving the most shocking speech the village had ever heard. "You heard right folks. Dragonbane, our Dragonbane, has fallen in love with a dragon."

The gasps from the crowd were prominent. Phrases like "Unspeakable!" and "How dreadful!" and of coarse, "The most ghastly insult ever heard of."

Snotlout was quick to ride on the upset. "Okay, I know that peace between the humans and dragons has been good for Birk, but this is taking it way too far! I say we go up to Mt. Greyden and teach the love birds that that sort of behavior isn't welcome!"

The crowd cheered with aproval. A terrible terror, that had hidden in the rafters, over-heard this acount. He ran out of a hole in the roof and went to meet with the other dragons to see how they reacted to this news.

Snotlout's Nightmare wasn't above voicing his outrage. "I can't believe it! This dragon-killer storms in and demands our respect and now he's trying to take one of our women!"

The other males hissed in agreement. Gem, Astrid's nadder, had a different opinion. "Who are we to judge true love? If Dragonbane's true to his feeling's, then this nightfury he's with obviously not in danger. I say let them have some fun."

An arrogant voice came out of the darkness. "Always the helpless romantic. Eh, sister?"

Gem looked up to see her big brother Daken gracefully land on a nearby roof top. He jumped down to join the rest of the group. "Your vision is clouded to the atrocities that are going on."

Gem gave him an accusing glare. "Correct me if I'm wrong, dear brother, but didn't you mention something about a nightfury you were trying to get with? Something matching the description of the one with Dragonbane?"

He stuck his nose in the air and brushed off the remark. "Please, I'm above such primal desire when it comes to the natural order of things."

Snotlout's nightmare interjected. "Let him speak."

Daken took a bow. "Thank you. Brothers and sisters, we are faced with a truly un-nerving development. Our kind has been hunted by this demon-man for years. Has anyone ever looked in his little hide away in the watchtower? The walls are littered with the bones of our people. Timberjack, nadder, nightmare, groncle, zippleback, and nightfury! We are just future trophies to him. Narissa, the poor soul who is in his clutches, is so close to the trap. Once he gets close enough, he will kill her and then make her wings into a cape, or make a necklace from her teeth! I say we track this horror down and exterminate him! Just as he has done to our people!"

The others cheered, roaring with agreement. They were interrupted by a familiar voice. "No."

They all turned there gaze to see Toothless come around the corner. Daken was quick to question him. "You have a say in the matter, half tail?"

Toothless rolled his eyes. "Nice, haven't heard that one in a while. Look Dragonbane may be a bit aggressive, but I think if he makes her happy..."

Daken interjected. "Ah, but how do you know? You know he is in love with her, but how do you know she is in love with him? She could be being held against her will, waiting for a brave handsome male fury to come to her rescue." Toothless hadn't thought of that. Daken could see this in his eyes. "Go. You've seen her right? Beautiful, an angel beyond compare. I'd be damned to lose her to a human..., but if a worthy male dragon, should beat me to the punch, then I would gracefully accept defeat. You have time before the humans make their march. Go and get her, be a man!"

Those words. They stuck to Toothless. "You...you're right. So she's bigger than me, just more of her to love. I can make her happy. I know I can!" He turned to the terror. "You! I need you to come along I need someone to work the rudder."

The little dragon did as instructed. He helped Toothless make his flight to try and make his claim. Daken smiled in a sinister manner. "_Hehehehehahahaha! Oh the fool! If anything, he and Dragonbane will destroy each other. If not then the humans will do the dirty work. Ah, I love being the bad-guy."_


	16. Chapter 15: Rehearse and rumble

Starcrossed.

Chapter 15: Rehearse and rumble.

* * *

Dragonbane started out on a walk back to Narissa's cave. He took a longer oute to try and clear his head and practice what he was going to say. He found a beautiful red rose on the way and was going to use that to help with his ordeal.

"Narissa, I...How's it going first of all? Good? Yeah going great for me too, I'm okay...um, I picked this flower on the way up and, well I don't really like it, but it made me think of you, because it's pretty. What I'm trying to say is...you are also pretty, but I like you anyway. So please accept this flower with it's petals and stem, which represent my feelings and tells you that...Aww man I'm in trouble." He sat down on a stump and rubbed the back of his head. "Why can't I figure this out?"

* * *

Toothless, along with his little co-pilot went to the spot where Dragonbane was last seen. Once they landed, Toothless told the terror to go back to the village. This was something he had to do alone. He sniffed around, trying to get Dragonbane's scent. When he finally caught it he kept his nose to the ground and tracked Dragonbane with every instinct he had. "No more. I'm not gonna let him walk all over me. I haven't seen a female nightfury in since my mother and I'm not gonna let this chance pass me up. No doubt that Dragonbane is gonna put up a fight, but I'm just gonna have to give it all I got. I mean, I took on that monster with Hiccup. There's no way Dragonbane could be any worse,...could he?"

As our normally peaceful Nightfury crept through the forest, he finaly found Dragonbane. Our hero was still practicing his admitence. "Oh look." Dragonbane said to himself. "The moon is out tonight. You know Narissa you kind of remind me of that moon, because it's big and bright...But by big I don't mean chubby, obviously you're not fat, but your personality is biggish and with...the...Oh, where am I going with this?"

Toothless decided to strike now, while Dragonbane was distracted. He slipped around silently until he was aimed at the back of the warriors head. With a quiet preparation he lunged at Dragonbane, only to be met by the back of our hero's iron-clad fist.

As the ever heroic fury skidded across the ground, our brave warrior stood boldly, putting on his helmet and bellowed to his attacker. "No one sneaks up on me and lives to tell the tale!"

Toothless quickly got back on his feet and shook off the crash. He glared at Dragonbane and gave a low growl. Without so much as a second to blink, he let out one of his fire-balls. Dragonbane crossed his arms in front of him and blocked the impact. The first was then followed by another, then another, repeating at a quickening pace, with greater force. Toothless was sure he had done it. He watched as the smoke cleared, and there stood Dragonbane, his armor glowing white-hot from the massive flame strike. Toothless was stunned and Dragonbane gave a low, mocking, chuckle. "Hmhmhmhmhmhmhmhhehehehehe! You simpleton. This armor can't be broken, the insolation means I feel no heat. The again, that does not mean the same for you!"

Dragonbane charged forward with a mighty shout. Toothless was ready to grapple, but not for the searing heat that the armor was giving off. Dragonbane wrapped his arms around Toothless' neck and squeesed with all his might, trying to choke the life out of him. If the pressure wasn't enough, Toothless was reeling from the searing pain of the heat. It got worse when Dragonbane sank in the claws of his gauntlets. Fortunately for everyone's favorite nightfury, he was able to shake our hero from the lock. He sent Dragonbane flying into a pond.

On impact, a thick layer of steam rose up from the water. Toothless couldn't see a thing. He moved in closer to get a better look, but was then caught off guard, when Dragonbane's hands shot out of the water and grabbed him and pulled him under. The two fought fiercly. Dragonbane punching and kicking, trying to break every bone in his opponent's body. Toothless clawed at him and tried to bite him, but the armor was too tough. He was hoping to get Dragonbane to over-exert himself, but how does one do that to someone so well battle-tested?

Toothless turned to get out of the water, so he could catch his breath. He jetted out and pulled back onto the shore gasping for breath. He must have gotten a good ten feet from the water, when Dragonbane re-surfaced. He marched toward Toothless in an almost emotionless state. Toothless saw no other option, but to strike first. Right in the middle of his charge, Dragonbane thrust his open palm forward and struck the nightfury right in the throat. No claws were used, but a throat-punch is never easy to suffer through.

Toothless coughed and clasped his throat trying to relax the muscle. Dragonbane let out an angry grunt, then questioned him. "Why? Why track me down? Why attack me?"

Toothless said nothing, still trying to recover. He managed a hateful hiss.

Our infuriated hero wanted answers. "I know you can speak! Now answer me!"

The nightfury glared at him an finally managed to let the words out. "You don't...deserve her!"

Dragonbane knew what he meant."And you think you do? Is that what this was about?"

Toothless nodded his head. "She should be with someone of her own kind."

Dragonbane glared at the dragon. "Since when do you decide what's wrong and what's right? Who are you to act as the gods?" Toothless didn't have an answer. Dragonbane continued."And what would Hiccup say? If you had killed me, then he would never forgive you."

Toothless tried to sound confident, but to no avail. "I...I thought I was doing the right thing. Daken said that..."

Dragonbane interrupted him. "Daken? He put you up to this? He only wants Narissa for himself. Most likely he was trying to get the two of us to destroy each-other."

The nightfury shook his head. "I thought I could man up. I can't even fly on my own anymore. I thought if I could win Narissa, then someone would think I was a real dragon again. That I didn't need a humans help. I guess I wasn't doing this for the right reasons huh?"

Our hero shook his head. "No...I can't say you were. Go home Toothless. Leave me to my path and find your own."

These words cut deep. Toothless was about to leave, but then stopped to deliver one more message. "Snotlout told the village about your...relationship with Narissa. They aren't exactly happy about it."

Dragonbane pieced two and two together. "Let me guess, they formed an angry mob and are one there way?" The nightfury nodded. Our hero sighed. "Then it looks like I've truly only got one person who cares. Try and stall them. I'm sure Daken will chase us to the ends of the earth, but the villagers wouldn't hold such a grudge against one of their own."

Toothless nodded. He Couldn't steer himself, but he could still fly in a straight enough direction. He pointed himself in the direction of Birk and took off. Dragonbane ran to Narissa's cave to warn her about this. Whether he was ready or not, he would have to tell her exactly how he felt.


	17. Chapter 16:convesion time

Starcrossed.

Chapter 16:Convesion time.

* * *

Narissa paced back and forth, waiting for him to come back. She shook her head. "Why did I have to kiss him? He probably thinks I'm weird, or crazy, or way too desperate! I found the perfect guy and once again I frightened him off. Why? Why do I have to be so freaking huge?" She curled up on the floor and hid her head.

Then came a friendly voice that she knew very well. "Cause then there wouldn't be that much of a view."

Narissa lifted her head and looked to the entrance of the cave. There was Dragonbane, with smile on his face. "You know, you really shouldn't talk to yourself like that. People might think your crazy."

She got up and rushed over to him. When she reached him, she nuzzled him and almost cried. she was so happy. "Dragonbane! I didn't think you'd come back. I'm sorry if I went too far, but it's just...no one's cared about me as much as you and I wanted to show you I cared too, but I panicked and I..."

Dragonbane interrupted her, with a full kiss on the lips. It lasted for about 7 seconds, but to them it was like an eternity. When it was done they looked at eachother and both said the first thing that came to their minds. "Wow."

Narissa was still a bit lost in the clouds. "That was...amazing. A little odd, but still incredible. Was it good for you too?"

He pondered this for a moment. "A little bit of a fishy after-taste, but still definately something I wouldn't mind doing again."

She nuzzled him again. "Does this mean what I think it does?"

Dragonbane smiled and rubbed under her chin. "Yes, I love you too." She purred, lied down and wrapped her tail around him, bringing him in close.

Narissa gave him a playful little look. "Mmmmmm, now that have the formalities out of the way, what do you say we get cozy. A nice night by the fire, some munchies. You, me, a nice dark cave and a ton of possibilities?"

He saw where this was headed and smiled. "Oh you naughty girl." He snuggled in close and they were in peace for a while.

Narissa broke their silence. "We must be crazy."

Dragonbane raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

She continued. "A human and a dragon, _together._ It doesn't exactly fit the norm."

He had a clever rebuttal. "I've had silver hair since I was a toddler, my eyes are on two different sides of the color spectrum and I can bench press you about 50 times. To Helheim with the norm."

Narissa laughed. "Hehehehe, I'm serious. I mean what's your cousin and his village gonna think of this?"

Dragonbane's eyes went wide. "Oh crud, I almost forgot. As much as I would love to just sit back and cuddle with the woman I love, we gotta go."

She was confused. "What do you mean? I live here."

He stood up and shook his head. "Not any more. One of my cousin's dink friends blabbed to the town and now we have a small army of both vikings and dragons on their way here to beat us for not being normal."

Narissa nearly jumped from the startling news. "What? Oh man why does this happen to me?"

Dragonbane swiftly moved to comfort her. "Calm down, baby. It's okay. Now you've got someone to run away with."

She smiled and gave him a playful lick on the cheek. "You are just too sweet. How about before we go, we..."

He placed a finger on her lips to silence her. "Later. Right now we've got to get out of here."

Narissa nodded. "Got it. Hop on, lover. Oooohh it feels good to say that."

Just as instructed Dragonbane climbed on board and the two sped out of that cave like no tomorrow. Narissa had one last comment. "Hey, why is your armor so warm? Normally it's ice cold."

Dragonbane rubbed the back of his head. "Long story. I'll have to tell you some day."

* * *

Ten minutes later the mob was upon Greyden. Daken sped ahead of the pack, he wanted to deliver an ultimatum to his dear Narissa. Choose him, or die. Imagine his surprise when he landed in an empty cave. He searched all over for her, but she was nowhere to be found. "Rrrrrraaaaaahhhhhh! How! There's no way she could have...unless." He turned to see Gem and Toothless with their riders Astrid and Hiccup.

Hiccup noticed the place was vacant. "They're not here. I don't get it where could they have gone?"

Astrid put a hand on his shoulder. "It doesn't matter. Just thank the gods that Dragonbane got out before the mob showed. Saves us the trouble of having to fight the entire village trying to save him."

He smiled and gave a relaxed sigh. "You're right. Come on, let's go tell the others he's gone. Knowing them they'll just head home."

She nodded in agreement, but was a bit concerned. "Should we do something about that Nadder over there. He seems kind of...jumpy."

Hiccup was a bit nervous. Astrid had a point that one looked like it was gonna go mad. "Uh...Toothless?" he called to his dragon. "Could you and Gem keep an eye on this one, while me and Astrid try to calm the angry mob of angry vikings and bloodthirsty reptiles? Thanks, good-luck, bye!" The two young vikings bolted out of the cave."

Toothless tried to get Hiccup to comeback. "Dude! Trade me jobs!" He was un-heard.

Daken snarled and glared at Toothless. "You!" He said coldly. "You were supposed to end him!"

Gem tried to cam her brother down. "Now, Daken. Let's not get over-excited. How about we go and get some fresh fish, maybe raid a village and take a few cows off of their ranches."

"Shut up!" Daken snapped.

Toothless stood in Gem's defense. "Hey lay off her. She's just trying to help!"

Daken 's rage grew worse. "You! All you had to do was keep Dragonbane busy! You warned him didn't you? I'll kill you for that!"

Daken charged at Toothless. He bit down hard on the Nightfury's throat. Gem was horrified by her brother's actions. She dug the claws into Dakens back and pulled him off Toothless. Daken recovered as best as he could. He blew a blast of his flame at Gem. It would have hit her right in the face if Toothless hadn't gotten in the way. Daken gave one last snarl before he flapped his wings and took off out of the cave with a speed as great as his hatred.

Gem nudged Toothless back to his feet. "Are you alright?"

He struggled to keep his footing. "Sure...ngh...never better."

She nuzzled him. "That was a brave thing you did."

Toothless smiled. "Well, I figure I might as well make one good decision during this adventure."

Gem giggled and gave him a playful lick on the cheek. "My hero. I wonder what Daken will do now."

He looked to the cave entrance with a look of worry. "I don't know. I don't think he can talk his way out of this anymore. He'll probably go after Dragnbane and try to end this."

She smiled a little. "Quite frankly, I've found that my brother's been in need of a good beat down for a long time. A fight with Dragonbane, should most definately put some sense through that thick skull of his." She nuzzled him some more. "Now, let mama take care of ya. You've had a rough day."

Toothless blushed. "Uh...okay."

The two figured they might as well settle in where they were. It was cozy enough.

* * *

Daken ripped across the skies with a burning hate in his eyes."He had picked up Narissa's scent and followed it. "No more! No more tricks! No more nice! No more playing around! She belongs to me!"


	18. Chapter 17: The triangle of emotion

Starcrossed.

Chapter 17: The triangle of emotion:love, hope, and rage.

* * *

Love:

Far from the island of Birk, in a nice closed off area in a rocky mountain, there is a hot spring nestled right in the center. Near the warm calming waters, fast asleep, we find Narissa. She slowly stirs from her nap, letting out a yawn. She peeks around, but to her surprise, she is alone. She calls to the one she loves. "Dragonbane? Dragonbane where are you?"

No answer. Her curious expresion droops into sadness. "Hmmm, I guess he ran off somewhere, would have been nice if he waited to tell me where. _Sigh..._Wait...What am I saying? He said he loves me. I bet at any given moment, he'll come back. Hehehe, Who knows If I close my eyes he might just magically reappear." She did just that.

When Narissa opened her eyes again, she was met with a startling "Boo!" Which made her yelp a little and then she fell backwards. There was Dragonbane, happy to have gotten the reaction he was hoping for." Awwww, did sweetie fall down and go boom?"

She gave him a little glare, but couldn't help break into a loving smile. "Hmhmhmhm, There you are. I missed you.

He kept smiling, but gave her a rather un-believing look. "Missed me? I've only been gone about an hour and from what I've seen, you just woke up."

Narissa got back to her feet, strolled on over to her man and gave him a gentle peck on the cheek. "Every second you're out of my sight feels like an hour." She said sweetly, then she nuzzled him just because he was hers.

Dragonbane gently stroked her cheek, then proceeded down to scratch under her chin, just the way she liked. "How a brute like me ever ended up with someone as wonderful as you is beyond me."

After a little more snuggling and some content purrs from Narissa, our lovely blue-eyed nightfury sparked some more conversation. "So what did you do for an hour?"

He stepped back and put a more triumphant smile on. "Well, being as we might be on the run for a little bit, I thought it would be a good idea to grab us a bite to eat." He dashed around the corner and came back, dragging a huge net-full of huge fish.

She went wide-eyed with delight. "Mmmmmmm. That's what I'm talking about. Let me at em!"

Dragonbane was quick to untie the net and let his lady love have her fill. He swiped one for himself. "Eat as much as you like my bright-eyed angel." He took a bite into his and ripped off a chunk. "Mmmmm...If there's anything I'd want to do today, it's make my girl happy."

Narissa gulped down another fish. She looked at him inquisitively. "And you think some fish alone are gonna keep me in a good mood?" She said playfully.

He gave her a smile. "It's a start. You know, it took me a while, but I finaly realized, that we haven't tried to connect on anything."

She was confused. "What do you mean?"

Dragonbane tried to explain. "Well, think about it. We haven't gotten a chance to just sit down and talk about our interests, our common links between us, we haven't even gone over the things that make us smile. It's just been a spur of the moment romance kind of thing."

Narissa was a bit taken aback, but then realized that he was right. "Well...where do we start?"

He thought for a second. "Well, what do you like to do in your spare time."

She smiled and began listing her hobbies. "Oh, I sometimes, just get up and go for a good fly. I never really have anywhere to go, I just need to feel the rush of the wind under my wings. Ocasionally I'll stumble into a libray and get a good book to read. In the sumer time...and this is just for fun mind you...I like chasing fire-flies."

Dragonbane perked up at this. "You too? Isn't it just amazing the way they seem to be everywhere at once?"

Narissa giggled a bit."Hehehehe,I know, they're so fast. Best part is when they seem to just pop out of nowhere and when you do catch them, they just seem to vanish."

He got close to her. "The best fun I've had. Now on to the next. What makes you smile, no matter how hard you try not to?"

She gave him a seductive look and replied warmly. "You first."

Dragonbane snuggled up close."How bout we go at the same time. 1...2...3."

They were both face to face, then said at once. "You." The two then shared a nice passionate kiss and spent some time keeping nice and cozy in their own little world.

* * *

Hope:

Toothless was in bad shape. That pounding he took from Daken left him grounded. He was bandaged up and lying in the little den that hiccup had set up under his house, trying to get some sleep. Unfortunately, his guilt was keeping him awake. He let out a heavy sigh. He wished he could try and fix his mistake, but what could he do in his present state. His spirits were lifted a little when he caught Gem's scent as she entered to check on him.

She strolled over and spoke in a quiet voice as to not disturb him. "Hey, are you up?"

Toothless gave a little smile. "Yeah," The smile faded. "I was just thinking."

Gem could guess the rest. "About what happened with Daken and how he sent you after Dragonbane?"

His tone of voice showed his anger at himself. "I can't believe I fell for it."

She got close and lied down next to him. "Don't be so hard on yourself. If there's one thing my brother is known for other than his bad temper, it's his rhetoric. Once he starts talking, people hang on every word."

Toothless shook his head."I just...I was starting to lose hope. I thought I didn't have any other chance to find someone."

Gem nuzzled the side of his face. "Hey, don't talk like that. Do you know who you are? You're Toothless the nightfury. You're responsible for bringing dragons and humans together. You took on the queen dragon head on and won in what was quite possibly the most epic fight I've ever seen. You giving up hope is just impossible."

He smiled. "Hmhmhm, am I really that special?"

She brushed up against him and smiled. "You are to me."

They stayed and connected. Perhaps if a pair like Dragonbane and Narissa can hold true, then perhaps there is hope for Gem and Toothless as well, but that dear readers is a story I will leave for you to tell.

* * *

Rage:

Daken was boiling mad, but that didn't stop him from using his insidious brain. It was simple fact that if he took Dragonbane in a one on one fight, it would surely be mean his own destruction. Then it occurred to him that maybe he wasn't alone in his want for vengeance.

He crept through the village as silently as he could, keeping out of sight. Once he reached his destination, the watch-toer, Daken was spotted by one of the vikings.

"Hey," The burly man called to him. Daken was irritated as the viking continued. "Now now big fella, mustn't go sticking your nose in Dragonbane's private quarters."

Daken let out a stream of fire at the man with a direct hit. This set the man ablaze, screaming in pain and running in circles. Daken left one last insult before proceeding. "Simpleton." He swung his tail and broke down the door. He then squeezed himself inside and took a look around. Just as he had described it, trophy's every where. He had a look of disgust on his face."Ugh...This place would put a boneknapper to shame." After a minute of scanning the room, he found it. "Yes, Dragonbane's dragon journal. Every dragon he has ever faced." He opened it and on the very first page was an index. "Huh? Well what do you know, the brute's organized. Let's see. Dead dragons, no. Dragons that got away, not good enough. Dragons so incredibly epic, that no one believes I actually saw them. Now that's more like it!" He moved through the pages to the first page of the section and found another index that listed the dragons depicted. "Oh good, he listed them according to nastiness. Let's see, I'll go with the top two worst. Number 2, The Gargantuan Green, Strong enough to up root a building in one pull, fire balls with a grand blast radius. Caution, once this dragon gains any momentum, no force in existence can stop it. My kind of goon. Number 1 worst, The Terror-shade. More parasite than dragon, this shapeless mass can graft itself on to any dragon, increasing their powers ten-fold, while amplifying aggression. I think I can use that. I'll take the book with me so I can track them down. And away I go!"

He turned and took off through the wall, laughing like a mad man. His plan set and his heart ablaze with anger.


	19. Chapter 18: The coming storm

Starcrossed.

Chapter 18:The coming storm.

* * *

Dragonbane took a little bit of alone time. He stood under a waterfall, enjoying the calmness of the warm pounding waters. It felt good to finally wash after all that's been going down. When he finished he swam back to the shore, dried off and put his cloths back on. As he walked back to the clearing where he left Narissa to nap, he pondered how things were gonna turn out. After a nice long talk, he and Narissa found that they shared so much. They both love watching the stars at night, they both enjoy a nice Icelandic cod, and they both enjoy the nice quiet of a dark cave.

When Dragonbane got back he saw that Narissa was already up and energetic. She hadn't noticed him yet, because she was too focused on a raccoon that scurried over her while she slept and tried to steal her fish. If you were to watch this spectacle, you could compare it to a cat chasing a mouse through the house. They ran all over the place. Narissa would pounce and swipe, but would miss and the raccoon would lead her to a huge stone and roll out of the way, making her crash head first into said stone. Narissa was clever, she noticed a large shadow that was cast by a high rocky ledge. She slipped in the shadow and became practically invisible. The raccoon thought he lost her, so he decided to take a drink of water. When the moment was just right, Narissa sprang from her hidden perch straight toward the rodent. The raccoon however noticed this and quickly got out of the way, which made Narissa crash into the ground, then do a few front flips into the water. The defeated nightfury peaked her head out of the water with a sad look on her face. The Raccoon appeared to be laughing, then stole a fish and ran off.

Dragonbane could no longer contain himself. He burst out into pure laughter. Narissa caught sight of this and glared. "What's so funny?" She asked in a rather aggrivated tone.

He tried to traighten up. "Oh, nothing. Just admiring the mighty hunter in all of her glory. Hahahaha!"

Narissa climbed out and moved to meet up with him. To his surprise, she pinned him under her front legs."Gah!...I was just kidding."

She didn't believe him."What's the magic word?"

Dragonbane tried to think of what to say, but was finding it hard to think with a 2 and a half ton reptile pressing down on him."Uuuhhhh? I love you?"

Narissa brought her face close to his and gave him an inquisitive look. "Was that a question or a statement?"

He smiled, then gave her a kiss. "A promise."

She removed some of the pressure, the brought him in close. "This is great. Not having to worry about being alone, having someone who cares about me no matter what I do. I just hope I'm not dreaming."Dragonbane gave her a little pinch. "Ouch! What was that for?"

He smiled at her. "At least you know you're not dreaming."

She smiled back, then nuzzled him. "You're terrible."she said jokingly

He laughed a little. "Hehehe, I know, but I can dig it."

They held each other close. After a minute, Dragonbane asked the awkward question. "Hey,...uh, how are gonna...well, you know."

Narissa was puzzled, but then blushed after figuring out what he meant. "Ohhhh, Uh, let's hold that thought for now and blow up that bridge when we get to it."

He blushd too and rubbed the back of his head. 'Good idea. Let's just enjoy what we've got."

She smiled. "Yeah, after all what could possibly go wrong?"

The two snuggled together. They would leave the spring in the morning.

* * *

Daken landed near an old well, that had been sealed with a large rock. He was followed by a massive Green scaled behemoth.

It was massive. About as big as the beast Hiccup and Toothless fought at the nest. On it's back were two minuscule wings. They were under-developed, because he never needed to use them. If the beast needed to go somewhere, it just walked. Under water, through a mountain, nothing stood in it's way. On it's head were two huge yellow goat-like horns. It looked down at Daken with it's piercing red eyes. "Grrrrrr...We go smash Dragonbane now_?...snarl."_

Daken turned to face his partner in crime. "All in good time, Krone. No do me a favor and bust open that well."

Krone took two giant steps forward and with one swipe of his huge paw, the enitre well was up-rooted, rock and all.

Daken peeked down the hole. There was darkness. He called down. "Hello? Anyone down there." Nothing.

Krone seemed a bit spooked. "Uh...boss?"

Daken looked back at the gigantic creature, who was pointing to the rubble that was once the well. The rock appeared to be bleeding some black ooze. It squeezed it's way out of the debris, then with tendrils that looked like little claws tearing at the ground, it moved toward the two dragons and stopped just a foot away from Daken. It stared at him with two glowing purple eyes.

Daken tried to remain un-nerved by the un-blinking gaze. "Hello there. The terror-shade I presume?"

It just gave a low gurgled growl.

Daken continued. "Does the name Dragonbane ring any bells?"

The thing let out a disgusted hiss and bared it's teeth at the word.

Daken took this as a good sign. "I want him dead. I think we can help each other make that happen. We got ourselves a deal?"

After a few seconds of staring at the nadder. The shade lunged at him. It clung to his face and began to spread. Krone stepped back, frightened by what was happening. At first, Daken screamed from the pain, but the screams soon turned into a menacing laugh. His voice became deeper and more twisted. "Yes! Yesssss! The power, the absolute power!"

* * *

Hiccup was finally starting to settle down after all the commotion. He lugging a large basket of fish to Toothless, since He hadn't seen the dragon all day and since knew that he couldn't fly without a rider, he figured the nightfury must be hungry. He wondered if he had enough, he noticed Gem was visiting often.

He opened the door to the dragon den and called in."Toothless? Hey buddy, I just wanted to make sure you were alright...Woah!" He shut the door as fast as he could.

Astrid was on her way to visit and heard Hiccup's shout. She rushed over as fast as she could. She found him leaning against the closed door. "Hiccup, what happened? You look like you just saw a ghost."

He shook his head. "I wish it was just a ghost."

She was confused. "Well, what did you see?"

Hiccup rubbed the back of his head. "I don't know...but I'm pretty sure we just became in-laws."


	20. Chapter 19: The best laid plans

Starcrossed.

Chapter 19: The Best Laid Plans.

* * *

The time had come for Dragonbane and Narissa to take their leave of their cozy little hideaway and head out to start a new. No ties to anything, just them and an entire world ahead of them. Narissa, who was rather excited about the whole thing, sat and waited for her knight in shining armor to return from gathering supplies. She took a moment to fantasize about what their life would be like. A smile on her face as she pictured a calm night by a warm fire place, he in his evening wear and her curled around him. Their eyes focused on eachother and a look of peace about them. Narissa then let out a pleased sigh. After years of being alone, she finally had someone who would care for her, and for whom she could do the same. She started to twist and turn about as she lay on the ground waiting. For some strange reason, she just felt like she needed to hold him close.

As if Narissa's distress sent out some sort of call, Dragonbane appeared over the hillside near the woods."Hey there, sweet-heart." He called.

Narissa sat up, obviously happy to see him. "Hey, snuggle-bear. How was the gathering trip?"

He answered by bringing a net full of fish from behind his back and set it in front of her. "I'd say pretty well." She focused on the bag with a hungry look in her eyes and made a move. Dragonbane was quick to stop her. "nuh uh uh. This has to last us until we find a place with a suitable food supply."

Narissa gave him that adorable wide eyed stare that he loved so much. "Awww, but I'm hungry now."

He laughed a little. "Hehehe. Oh, you poor thing. Here." He tossed her a nice big bass that he wrestled out of the water. "This'll have to hold you over. You'll get more later."

She caught the fish and gladly gulped it down. She rolled over on her side, feeling defeated. "Alright, but I'm not happy about it."

Dragonbane walked up and scratched under her chin, making her purr in that sweet little way that made his heart melt. He kissed a few quick times on the cheek. Narissa giggled, then gave him a playful lick. She then spoke sweetly to him. "Hmhmhm, I've got to be the most loved Nightfury in the whole world."

He smiled. "Yes you are. Now how bout we get going? Sooner we find a place to stay, the sooner we can 'break it in'."

The playful tone in his voice made Narissa shiver with delight. "Well then, let's not waste anytime." She gently stroked the side of his face with her claw. She stood up and lowered so he could climb on.

Once Dragnbane had gotten himself and the collection of fish situated, he signaled Narissa to get ready for take off. "Okay, on three. One..."

Narissa posed herself ready to lunge., then continued as she opened her wings. "Two..."

Before they could finish, they were interrupted by a huge fireball with explosive impact. It sent them flying back, spilling their cargo. When they landed Narissa looked up and was saddened. "Oh man, our fish!"

Dragonbane shook his head and got into a defensive stance. "It amazes me that you can think of food at a time like this. Any sign of what caused that?"

She looked around. "I don't know, whatever it was hardly made a sound."

He made a dash for his armor, but before he could even reach it, a second blast knocked it into the hot-spring. "Whatever it is it's smart. Without that armor, I'm not exactly as durable."

There was a sound. Loud and continuous. Like a sound of thunder. It grew louder and louder, until bursting up from the ground was none other than Krone, The Green Gargantuan. His devastating reveal sent Narissa into the air. Although she was surprised, it was easy for her to take control of the fall and glide to her beloved. The massive emerald dragon brought his massive fore-arms up out of the ground and back down to earth with another earth-shaking thud. He saw Dragonbane and his golden eyes went wide with rage. "Dragonbane!"

Narissa glanced toward the un-easy warrior. "Friend of yours?"

The two were fast enough to dodge the first massive swing from the giant. he then pulled himself up the rest of the way, making sure to corner Dragonbane. Narissa tried to get to him, but was swatted out of the air by Krone's tail. A wild look came across Dragonbane's eyes when he saw this. He charged at Krone, not caring of the lack of armor. He lunged at the beast, Landing on his face. Clasping his hands together he delivered a mighty hammer-swing down on the Gargantuan's left eye. Krone let out a roar that showed more irritation than pain. With a shake of his head, he sent Dragonbane flying. Our hero skipped across the ground like a stone on water.

He stood, just barely. He was in pain, being he wasn't used to being put through that without his armor. "Ouch. Boy, you still must be holding some nasty grudge if you came all the way out here.

Krone bellowed with rage like no other. "Little man thinks he can stop Krone. Krone is unstoppable! Living juggernaut!"

Narissa was a bit frightened by such power, but Dragonbane actually laughed in the brute's face. "Hahahaha! So dense you can only talk in the third person, eh? As fun as it is listening to you give the same speech again and again, why don't you tell me who put you up to this?"

The gargantuan beast growled, aggitated by the warriors attitude. "Krone no need help to crush you! Krone strongest one there is!"

Dragonbane couldn't help but fan the flames. "But Krone not smartest one there is. So tell me, who set this up?"

An evil hiss filled the air. It was familiar to Dragonbane, but it filled him with more dread than anything he'd ever faced. A dark shadow swept across the ground quick as lightning. Dragonbane looked to the skies, then to the shadows. Narissa finally managed to slip pass Krone and curled around him defensively. Then came the laughter. "Hmmmm-hmmm-hmmm,hehehe-hehehehehe,hahahahaaaahhhh." The sick twisted laugh was familiar, but also demonic.

Narissa was terrified. "Uh, Dragonbane? Maybe we should just cut our losses and get the helheim out of here!"

He gently stroked the side of her head in an attempt to calm her, but the trembling in his voice told her other-wise. "It's...It's gonna be okay. I need you to do me a favor and just...fly."

She was stunned. "What?"

Dragonbane pushed trying to urge her to go. "Just go, get out of here. I'll handle this."

Narissa wouldn't budge. "No, Dragonbane I won't leave you."

He seemed to show anger. "And I won't lose you! Now go!"

She stood firm. "No."

The sinister laughter came back. "Hahahahahahaaaaahhhheheeeeh. Ohhhh, how sickeningly sweet. The frightened princess, won't leave the side of her brave knight!"

Dragonbane shouted to the un-seen attacker. "You fired that shot. You knew that I needed that armor. Only a few dragons know that and I only like one of them." Narissa took a little pride in that. Dragonbane went on. "Step on out...Both of you!"

Krone glanced over to the side, just as a sickening figure stepped into the light. It was ghastly, it looked like a nadder, but three times normal size. It's scales were black as night with almost a web likedesign that was grey as it's under-belly. It's eyes were two blotches of bright purple, which glowed with no pupils to show. It had two sets of wings, one that looked normal, save for the color, but the other was grim and ghastly, like bat wings made from some liquid membrane. Two black fore arms, which were so thin they could be described as almost skeletal. Spikes ran down it's spine, as well as topping of the knees. It stood before Dragonbane and Narissa and took a small bow. "Well...Impressive isn't it? hmhmhmhmmmm."

Dragonbane spoke up. "By Odin...Daken what have you done?"

The beast hissed wickedly. "There is no more Daken! What you see before you is a dragon like no other! A perfect fusion of two beings, bonded by a hatred of you! For the last moments of your life, you may call us Blight!"

Narissa got this incredulous look on her face. "Blight? Well, it makes sense, just looking at you could make anyone sick."

Dragonbane elbowed her gently in the arm. "Shut up, your making it worse." He whispered.

Blight gave another roaring hiss. "To late! She's already sealed her fate! Krone, get her!"

Dragonbane thought as fast as he could. He slipped under Narissa, and then lifted her up. With every once of strength he could muster he threw her into the air. She took control, then followed his given directions and flew off, just as the gargantuan made his mad dash after her, knocking over trees and pieces of mountain on his way.

Dragonbane turned to face Blight. "Now, let's talk about this."

"No more talk!" Blight shouted as he charged for our hero. Dragonbane was light on his feet. He vaulted over the monster with relative ease, but Blight had his own creepy reflexes. A second mouth opened on his back and shot out a long, forked, prehensile tongue at the warrior. It wrapped around Dragonbane's leg and whipped it's self around and flung him against some rocks. Dragonbane pushed himself off the ground. Normally he wouldn't be having so much trouble, but this pain he was feeling. He needed that armor for this fight, or did he? He dodged several fire balls that Blight launched as fast as he could. Fortunately, the insane hybrid didn't notice the club-like hunk of rock that Dragonbane picked up after the impact. Dragonbane ran right for him weaving left and right, avoiding more blasts of flame. Finally he was right under Blight's chin and with a mighty swing, he shattered the club, while breaking the monster's jaw.

He slipped back as Blight roared out in pain. He tried getting through to him. "Daken listen to me, the Terror-shade is evil, it doesn't want to help you it just wants to use you!"

Blight shook his head. Not answering, but shaking his jaw back in line. There was a disturbing _clack_when he finished. "You lie!" He let out a stream of flame that could be compare to that of a Monstrous Nightmare.

Dragonbane ran to dodge it. When it stopped he tried talking again. "I know it feels good. The power, the way it get's inside your head and makes all kinds of promises, but you lose yourself in it. It makes you give in to your anger. Get rid of it, Daken."

Blight's eyes went wide with fury. "Stop calling us that!" He turned the tip of his tail toward Dragon bane and shot several barbs at him. Our hero dodged most, but took one to the leg. It wasn't long before he started to feel numb. Blight took this opportunity to charge again, this time hitting our groggy hero with his head. Dragonbane grabbed hold of the head spikes. While Blight madly tried to shake him loose, Dragonbane yanked the barb out of his leg and jabbed it into the creatures neck. This made him reel back in agony, allowing our hero to knee Blight in his neck, sending him crashing to the ground. Dragonbane stumbled and rolled away. The effects of the barb's toxin were now taking hold of the two, they were paralyzed. As Dragonbane lay face down on the ground, he prayed that Narissa was alright.

* * *

Our lovely blue-eyed nightfury flew as fast as she could, but it seemed as though the green gargantuan behind her would not give up. She was getting a good distance away, but how long could she keep this up? She grew fatigued, but he was never flinching. Krone plowed through everything before him. Narissa even turned a few times to pelt him with several blasts of her flame, but no matter how strong the blast, nothing could slow him down.

"Don't you ever give up?" She shouted t her pursuer.

Krone bellowed out an answer. "Nothing stops Krone when Krone starts moving!"

Narissa rolled her eyes. '_How much of a one-track mind does this guy have?'_ Then an idea popped into her head. "Then come on big guy. Follow the pretty lady."

She made a few sharp turns and weaved in and out from between trees. She hoped that her instincts were right on the money with this one. If she remembered this area correctly then this would take them right where she needed them to be. Krone wasn't letting up, in fact he was picking up speed. He got close enough to try and bite off Narissa's tail. Thankfully she was able to pull up just in time. She gave a sly smile. "Nuh-uh, look, but don't touch." She then ignited a few trees, which Krone crashed through. The smoldering bits of wood hurt his eyes, but he just kept running. "Don't crazy lady get it? Once Krone get's going nothing can stop him!"

Narissa giggled a bit, she stopped flying a little bit ago and stayed in one spot in the air watching Krone move into place. "Yeah, I caught that, but what happens when you start moving down?"

He was confused by this, but once his vision cleared, he realized that he was heading straight for a cliff. He tried to stop himself, but it was too late. He plummeted down hundreds upon hundreds of feet, into the cold dark waters of the ocean, where he continued to sink into a seemingly endless abyss. But he is the Green Gargantuan. He doesn't need to sleep, eat, or even breath. Eventually he will return, but back to the subject at hand.

Narissa let out a sigh of relief, but then her eyes went wide with the realization that she didn't know how to get back to Dragonbane from where she was. She sniffed the air, hoping to catch even the slightest wiff of which direction to go in. All she could do was take off and scan the area until she could get some clue.

* * *

Meanwhile, Dragonbane was struggling to fight off the toxins that were now running through his system. Blight had gotten a higher dose from the injection he received. Our hero summoned every once of strength he had to manage a crawl. He made his way to the waters of the hot-spring and plunged in. In his time as a dragon-slayer, he learned to keep hold of his breath for a good while, but not forever. He could feel the strain set in, but as if the gods themselves were guiding the way, he spotted a glimmer of light. A small twinkle given off by his armor and weapons. He grabbed hold and rose to the surface. Gasping for air he made his way to the shore. As he crawled back onto dry land, he was un-settled by the sight of Blight lifting himself off the ground.

The hybrid creature was angrier than ever. "You! We will end you!"

Dragonbane had to think fast. Blight was closing in and our hero could think of only one thing he could do. Dragonbane took in as deep a breath as he could and put all of his heart into this one last shot. "Rrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!" The sheer force of the roar was so powerful, that Blight was sent flying back. He crashed against a pillar of stone and fell to the ground. He tried to stand, but the ear splitting noise was too much. His second skin started to quiver and bits of it oozed off, revealing the blue scales underneath. Dragonbane held that roar for at least two or three minutes. Finally he stopped. It was all he could do. Blight was shaking, but kept his march.

Dragonbane was for the first time, all out of tricks. He hung his head low. "Okay..._cough..._That's enough. You win, I'm beat. My muscles are locking up."

Blight laughed. "Hahahaha! How pathetic! You're actually giving in to us?"

Dragonbane's voice became cold. "Not you_...it. _I'm ready for the shade to take me back." There was a pause as Blight was stunned by these words. Dragonbane went on. "That's what it wants right? To be reunited with it's first and greatest friend." he called out to the terror-shade. "I hope you can here me! Think about it, our bond was perfect. My memories run through your mind. In the end I'm nothing without you. Please...take me back."

Blight hissed at him with defiance. "You think it's that simple. The terror-shade has found a much better partner in me!"

Dragonbane smiled slightly. "Just me?... No more us?"

Blight's eyes went wide as the shade started to peel off him. Daken shrank back to his normal size as the extra wings, horns and spikes withered. He started to slip into unconsciousness. "Please...No...Don't leave me..." He begged before he went out like a light. The massive shape of the Terror-shade slithered toward Dragonbane with a nightmarish speed. Dragonbane's eyes shifted to the right as he shouted out a command. "Narissa, hit it now!"

The shade whipped around just in time to see the full-charged shot heading right toward him. It managed one last hiss of surprise before being blasted into oblivion.

Narissa swooped down out of the sky and lifted the now limp Dragonbane on to her back. "Looks like I got here just in time." She said softly as tonot aggitate a headache.

Dragonbane gave a slight laugh. "Hehehe, A few minutes ago would have been nice." She picked up his armor and handed it to him. Our hero looked into his helmet with a deep thought. "You know, I think it's high time I retired."

She laughed. "Hmhmhm, don't you think it's a bit too soon to be thinking about that?"

He seemed to get defensive. "Hey! Don't tell me what to not do. I'm Dragonbane, I'm stronger than any reptile, and swift as the wind. I'm undefeated and I've got a smoking hot girlfriend. Now take me home...crazy...lady..." He then passed out. It was the toxin talking.

Narissa smiled and rolled her eyes. "That's my man." She looked over at the defeated nadder. "Goodbye, Daken. I hope you find a way to cope."

With that she took off into the sunset, with her true love sleeping peacefully the whole trip.


	21. Chapter 20:Bliss

Starcrossed.

Chapter 20: Bliss

* * *

Dragonbane was in a haze. His eyes shut, a subsiding headache, and aches like he had just been smashed repeatedly into a huge rock, which he kind of remembered happening. He rubbed his head, then let it rest. To his surprise it rested on something warm and smooth to the touch. He sleepily opened his eyes, to find that he had been sleeping against Narissa and what he felt was her tail, coiled around him to keep him warm. Our hero followed his beloved's form to her lovely face. Narissa was passed out, poor thing fell asleep waiting for Dragonbane to wake up. He smiled, then as gently as he could, moved her tail aside and stood up. He stretched the ache out of his muscles. The toxin had worn off and he was feeling well rested and more energetic than ever. He took a moment to look around. Narissa had brought him to a very extensive cave, which seemed to go on in several different sections. Now Dragonbane had always been a thinking man, so once he got a good look at those walls he was working up a plan to decorate. First he would carve into the stone and shape up the place, then he would head back to Birk and get his things...but that's the rub isn't it? He remembered saying something before nodding off, something about retiring. His true love is a dragon...not exactly a plus in his usual business.

He then heard a quiet voice that came in with the wind. "Quite the little cunundrome isn't it?"

Dragonbane recognized this eerily calm voice. He made his way to the cave entrance and there, arms behind his back, looking out at the night sky, was Equinox. He spoke out to his mysterious acquaintance. "I was wondering if you'd forgotten about me."

Equinox didn't turn, he just kept watching the stars as he spoke. "As if I could ignore someone of your moral balance. I must say that was some show you put on at the hot-spring."

Our hero's eyes went wide at the comment. "Wait, you saw that mess with Blight and the Gargantuan? Dude! Why didn't you help?"

Equinox shrugged his shoulders. "Half because I knew you didn't need it and half because I enjoy a good smack down now and again."

Dragonbane rolled his eyes. "You know, for a being of perfect balance, I would think that you would have stepped in to even the scales. With Daken and the terror-shade it was a two on one fight." He stepped up next to Equinox and took a look at the sky, and quite frankly it was amazing. "Woah. Is the sky falling or something?"

Equinox gave a hushed laugh. "No, it's called a metor shower. Rocks from across the galaxy streaming across the atmosphere in a pretty little light show. Sadly it doesn't last too long."

Dragonbane was perplexed. "You a star fanatic or is there some sort of hidden message in all this?"

Equinox turned to him. "You were never alone in that fight. Think about it, what gave you the courage to get into the fight without armor? What gave you the speed to dodge blight's flame? What gave you the strength to fight off the effects of the toxin? What gave you the will power to stay in the water to get your armor back?"

Our hero was even more so confused. "Uhhh...you?"

If Equinox's eyes could be seen through the mask, then Dragonbane could see them roll. "No you twit. It was Narissa. Not a single moment went by when you weren't thinking 'Am I gonna be able to see her again? Can I stay alive long enough to prove my love?'. You found your muse, you found what tips the scales of your very soul. She brings out the best in you, and at times the worst."

Dragonbane smiled slightly. "I assume you're referring to that number I did on that nightmare that attacked her."

"If she needs you, you come running. Either as a source of comfort, or a destroyer of those who'd hurt her." He turned to our hero. "You've found the key to managing your inner balance. Now go in their and bring her out to see this sky before the lights fade."

Dragonbane smiled. He looked back into the cave. "Yeah, I think I'll do that. Hey before you go I wanted to ask..." He turned back, but Equinox was no where to be found. "Man that guy is a spook." With that, our hero returned to sleeping Narissa. Then he saw what may have worn her out so much. That ever caring angel carved out a fireplace in the stone wall of the cave. He was wondering what kept them so cozy. He knelt down and gently stroked the top of her head and she started to purr. Dragonbnae smiled. "Sweetie...yoowhoo, wake up."

Narissa slowly stirred from her nap. When she caught glimpse of him she smiled. "Hey you..._yawn..._I was wondering when you'd stop being out cold."

He shook his head a laughed. "Hmhmhm, well it's not like I wanted to get hit with a toxic dart and tossed around like a rag-doll. Come outside, there's something I want you to see."

She stretched then curled back up ready to doze off again. "Can't it wait? It's been a long day."

Dragonbane, not wanting to miss this opportunity, lifted the blue eyed angel to her feet. "No no, this is something special. Just come out for a little bit and we can get right back to dream land."

Narissa didn't want to lose this argument. She went limp and made Dragonbane carry her out to see what was going on. When they did get outside, she was amazed by what she saw. "Wow...Dragonbane, this is incredible. Wait a sec...is the world ending?"

He smiled. "Nope. It's just another ordinary miracle. Kind of like you."

She nuzzled his cheek, then looked in awe at something that he missed. "Oh, look at that."

Dragonbane looked in the direction she pointed out. It was two shooting stars, they didn't fade quickly like the others. They continually rode across the sky in a way that one circled the other, making a weaving trail of light behind them. "Well how do you like that? Heh, I guess we got our stars after all."

Narissa brought him in close and snuggled him lovingly. "You big softy. I'm gonna remember this night forever."

He wrapped his arms around her neck and brushed his cheek against hers. "Me too. Come on, let's head back in and get settled in front of that cozy little fireplace."

She gave him a loving lick. "You read my mind."

And they did just that. These poor outcasts brought together by the winds of fate, now living in a state of bliss.

What of Gem and Toothless, you ask? They live happily together in Birk, in a state of equal happiness, or more so. In fact, I think Gem might have a little surprise for our half tailed friend, but that is another story.

Daken was picked up by a search party from Birk. Apparently setting someone on fire constitutes as going rogue. They dragged his scaly behind to the arena and locked him in a rather snug holding pen. Now I find myself saying time and time again that you can't keep a good villain down, I'm sure he'll think of something to get passed ten heavily armed vikings and their elite trained dragons.

Krone is still trying to climb his way out of the abyss. Given his strength, I'd give him about, oh, let's say a few weeks. Given his two digit I.Q., finding Dragonbane again will take about...forever unless pointed in the right direction.

As for the Terror-shade, well we didn't stick around for the slight glimpse of quivering in the shadows, the deer investigating a strange noise, only to be drained into nothing but a dry pile of torn fur and bone. And that muffled gurgling hiss, with the shimmer of purple were eyes should be.

Equinox? Well, no one really knows what the story is with him. A being of such power could be any where in any reality. Although local authorities have picked up a certain group of marauders. They were rambling crazy claims of odd happenings. Their boots catching fire for no reason, their weapons crumbling into dust, and then getting beaten down by some strange black and white blur.

* * *

**Heroes and villains, all accounted for. Now some of you may be thinking that this is the end, but my dear readers, falling in love is just the first step in the journey. Many adventures await our mis-matched little pair. So I hope you'll stay vigilant for the next segment in the Starcrossed legacy. Until then...Happy reading**


	22. notice

**Attention!**

**As of today, the sequal to Starcrossed has been released to the viewing public. If you've enjoyed what you've read so far, please continue. Go to my profile page and read the first chapter, if you have trouble finding it. I hope that most of you who have put Starcrossed on a story alert list, will recieve this message. Farewell for now and happy reading!**


	23. attention artists

**Attention!**

**I am looking for volanteers to draw cover art for the story. It can be based on a particular chapter, or a title image for the story in general. I'm hoping that at least one of the many many readers out there is an accomplished artist**


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